Pursuit
by music.ribbons
Summary: (Modern AU; Slow-Build) Chrom, a young police officer, is set on making Ylisse a better place by eradicating the creeping effects of the Grima Syndicate. Robin, the daughter of Validar Grima, is trying to live a normal life as a trauma surgeon in Ylisstol. As the two develop feelings for one another, Robin is torn between her morals and her loyalty to her family. (Update: 06/29)
1. The Bike

**Authors Notes:** Hello, readers! I originally posted this on "Archive of Our Own", but then I remembered I also had a FF account. So I'm just spreading the love. Hope you enjoy! 'Pursuit' will be updated every Friday, but other than that, here are the first seven chapters!

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - The Bike**

He huffed and puffed as he thrust forward. There was sweat dripping down his face and his shirt stuck to his body. He tried as hard as he could to go faster because it was being demanded of him, but he was at his limit. He was so close. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to stop. But he was so close!

"Y-You!" he huffed as he pedaled his police bike, weaving through the driving cars. "S-stop!" he gasped for air. Several cars honked at him as he zipped past them. He just biked through a red light. "Damn it," he cursed as he helplessly watched the navy imported car become smaller and smaller from his view. He wasn't going to catch up to the expensive car.

Once the car he had been chasing since Fifth Avenue to Marth and Sixteeth finally sped up and swerved around another sharp corner, he lost sight of it.

"Fuck," he swore as he slowed down and tried to assess where they could've gone. "Frederick, you are the cruellest person I know," he muttered out loud as he tried to catch his breath.

As if on cue, he heard police sirens. He jerked his head back while sloppily wiping the sweat from his forehead. One car zipped by with its lights on and the one behind slowed down behind to stop beside him.

The driver rolled down the window. "How's your day going Officer Exalt? I got your call."

"Frederick," the man on the bike glared.

"Chrom," Frederick smiled politely, deflecting Chrom's annoyance with him.

"This is utter injustice," Chrom managed to say even with aching lungs and a pounding heart.

"Well, you said you'd accept the punishments. I took away your car privileges. I see that you still found a way to get around," Frederick gestured to the bike.

"I just missed a prime suspect that was part of the Grima syndicate!" Chrom protested loudly. " _Because_ you took away my car privileges."

"I have a couple questions for you," said Frederick.

Frederick was indeed a close family friend of Chrom's family, but he was still his superior. They would banter together, mostly on Frederick's expense, but Chrom knew better than to disrespect the Deputy Chief of Special Tactical and Investigation Division.

Chrom waited for Frederick to continue.

"Who crashed four cars in the last nine months to catch a 'prime suspect' of the Grima syndicate?" Frederick inquired calmly.

"I did, sir," Chrom answered reluctantly.

"Who refused to take three weeks off after being shot protecting a civilian during a crossfire between drug gangs?" Frederick continued.

"I did, sir," Chrom quietly confessed. He saw where this was going.

"Who is the person who sleeps at their office desk in the police station almost every day except days when his sisters come to force him to go home and shower?" Frederick verbally jabbed him once more.

Frederick was right. As always. Emmeryn and Lissa came over so often, that the entire police force probably knew them. "Okay, I get it. I will stay on the bike," Chrom surrendered.

"You know that's not what I'm trying to say here. I'm telling you to slow down and take a break. You don't have to do this by yourself. You have us. Your team. Besides what are you doing chasing suspects? I put you on traffic patrol duty," Frederick lectured with a stern frown. "Go home."

"Yes, sir," Chrom said with the slightest droop of his broad shoulders.

Frederick sighed at his younger officer. He was only looking out for Chrom so that he wouldn't burn out. "That's an order," he said firmly to emphasize he meant it.

"I heard you the first time," Chrom picked his bike up and turned it around to pedal home. How dreary.

"Good day, Officer Exalt," Frederick pulled forward and drove off.

He swore that the reason why Frederick was so tough on him more than the others was because he must've done something to torment the man in their previous lives. Perhaps Frederick had to babysit him. (Not that he didn't do that now, although Chrom would never admit that out loud.) This must be payback. That was the only explanation for this unfair punishment of chasing criminals with a police bike. There was _nothing_ threatening about being chased by a policeman on a _bike_.

He cursed Naga and began pedalling home. On his stupid police bike.

* * *

Chrom's legs were starting to give out. He had a long day. He also hated being on patrol duty too. With a bored expression, he stared at the red light and waited for the light to turn green. His attention was brought back to reality when he heard irritating honks again. Even though he wasn't officially on duty, he scanned his surroundings out of habit.

There was a crazy woman jaywalking across the street. Her dark obsidian ponytail whipped side to side as she turned her head to avoid oncoming traffic. She was awful at it. She made several cars come to jerking stops followed by enraged long honks. At one point, she gave one of the drivers the finger. The irony, he thought dryly. Another almost hilarious thing she did the entire time was that she had one hand up in the air. Like she was safely leading an imaginary string of ducklings or preschoolers across the street and all the cars around her were at fault.

He considered his options for a moment. One: he _was_ off-duty as Frederick pointed out and should go home. Two: he _was_ on traffic patrol duty until Frederick lifted the probations so he should do his job. Three: the woman was doing something illegal and he couldn't turn a blind eye to wrongdoings, whether it be as minor as jaywalking or the criminal activities of drug syndicates. Again, he should do his job.

One point for 'Going home' and two points for 'Doing his job'. He was going to do his job.

"Miss!" he shouted while looking both ways before entering the intersection to chase her down. He, like the woman before, held up his hand to the surrounding cars to momentarily stop for him. They obliged. He represented the law, after all.

Chrom stood up on his bike and pedaled quickly to catch up to the woman who was now running away. He jumped onto the curb and began to gain on her. Her long ponytail bounced lusciously behind her and her worn backpack thumped against her back with every running step.

"Hey, you! Stop!" he shouted.

Surrounding pedestrians slowed their paces to watch what was going on. Chrom saw the girl briefly glance behind her and then begin to full-on sprint.

"I'm serious! It's an offense to run from a police officer!" Chrom hollered. He was almost there. Just a little more. He scanned his surroundings and saw that if he swerved around the forested area of the park, he could catch her by surprise. Chrom veered off his original path and headed into the trees.

The woman glanced behind her again and saw that he was gone. She stopped in her sprint and looked around to find the weird, sweaty, awkward policeman on the dinky bike. Nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, thank goodness," she breathed.

"Ah-ha!" Chrom shouted triumphantly and jumped out of nowhere with his bike.

"Ahhh!" she screamed.

Chrom got off his bike and the bike fell to its side clusmily. "You stay right there!"

"You almost hit me!" the woman snapped. "What would you have done if you had hit me?"

"Look, lady, you ran first," he pointed a finger at her.

"I'm needed at the hospital! They're short on staff in the ER." Her words were laced with irritation. "What is it with you Ylissean policemen? Always chasing me?"

"You _ran_ ," he pointed out.

"Well, if someone was chasing you like a mad man, would you stop?" she snapped.

"No. Wait—if it were a policeman I would," Chrom stumbled on his words. Gods, he was tired.

"See, you agreed with me," she crossed her arms.

"No, I didn't," he calmly responded. "Name and ID, please."

"Am I being detained or am I free to go?" she answered with a question.

"Name and ID," Chrom repeated. "You're getting a fine for jaywalking and you ran from a police officer."

"How do I know you're actually a police officer? You could just be a pervert who dresses like a police officer. And you're all sweaty," she grimaced at him.

"Okay, look. I've had a long day—," Chrom began.

"Mine's just started. Besides, what policeman chases people on a _bike_ ," the woman snorted.

"—and you're not making this easy. So either we go to the police station together, or you give me your name and ID right now," Chrom gave an ultimatum. It was the bike. No one took him seriously anymore. It didn't matter if he had his uniform on, which at the moment was drenched with sweat stains. Great. The bike and now the sweat stains.

"I don't think we'll both fit on the bike," she scoffed.

 _Ring ring._ The woman pulled out the phone and read the new text message, ignoring Chrom momentarily.

"Shit," she swore. "There's been a school bus crash. Oh no, that's a lot of casualties," she gasped with a fixated gaze on her phone. "I need your bike. I have to go save lives! I'll return it later!" The uncooperative woman shoved him aside and ran for his bike. Swiftly, she hopped on and pushed off the ground to try to balance herself on the bike that was too big for her. Surprisingly, her feet could reach the pedals and she began to pump her legs vigorously.

Chrom stood there dumbfounded, trying to register what had happened. She just stole his bike. Unbelievable. Looking at the direction she was headed, the closest hospital was the Ylisstol General Hospital.

That was still a couple blocks. Well, he needed to get that bike back. Naga must be on Frederick's side: punishing him for being the shit-disturber of the police force. This was what Frederick must've felt like when he was responsible for new recruit Chrom, once upon a time. Left in the dust. Alone. Stranded. On more than one occasion.

He was still in a state of disbelief as he began his trek to the hospital. She just stole his bike. The woman with the long ponytail. Stole his bike.

Just wait 'till I find you, he swore in his thoughts.


	2. Priorities

**Chapter 2 - Priorities**

The smell of blood was thick in the air. The sound of pained moans and panicked cries deafened her ears. "Come on, guys! Let's work faster!" Robin barked orders, her scrubs splattered with blood. "We need to intubate this patient."

The assisting nurse handed Robin the equipment needed to intubate the unconscious child bleeding out on the bed. Smoothly, she inserted the tube with no hesitation. Another nurse squeezed the balloon at the end of the tube.

"She needs the OR. There is physical trauma to the head and there may be some internal bleeding seeing how we can't stop the bleeding," Robin diagnosed. She gave the wide-eyed intern a string of instructions. He nodded with a lack of confidence. "You'll be fine. I have faith in you."

The intern named Ricken Magus nodded vigorously. Robin gave him a brief, tired smile before being called away again.

The paramedics brought in another wave of injured children and grown adults. A pretty nurse with bouncy blonde locks ran up to assist Robin.

"Dr. Grima," she reported as she pulled on a clean pair of examination gloves.

"Nurse Maribelle," Robin nodded. The pair dodged their colleagues and patient beds being wheeled around in the ER like bumper cars. Except here, actually bumping one of the beds would mean disaster.

The new patient looked like an older man in his early forties. His neck was wrapped structurally in a neck brace.

"We think there is damage to his spine and his blood pressure is dropping. We suspect that he's hemorrhaging," one of the paramedics stated.

"Sir, how are you feeling?" Robin asked in a soft, concerned voice. It was the tone she only used for patients. The kind, gentle, I-actually-give-a-shit-about-your-well-being voice.

"Like fuckin' hell," he choked out with a smirk.

Robin laughed kindly at his response and then called over a couple of the residents to assess him.

"I'm really sleepy," the man moaned.

"It's because you lost a lot of blood," Robin explained. She looked at the residents and gave a curt nod, "On the count of three. One. Two. Three." The team of medical experts lifted him off the gurney and onto a hospital bed. The man cried a muffled excruciated groan.

"Okay, sir," Robin continued. "Can you tell me your name? Dr. Laine, open up his shirt to identify any external wounds. Connect him to the monitors. Quickly, quickly." The young resident nodded and bid as she was told.

"Dr. Grima, he's not conscious," Maribelle nudged Robin.

"Sir?" Robin saw that her patient had his eyes closed and his chest was no longer rising and falling. "We don't even know his blood type," she cursed while hopping on the hospital bed in case they had to move and began doing chest compressions.

"OR Six is available," Ricken ran up to the bed surrounded by Robin's medical team.

"You know what to do, team," Robin gave them a confident nod. "He doesn't have much longer. We're not losing another one today."

"Yes, Dr. Grima," her team shouted and rushed the bed to OR 6.

"Get out of the way!" Maribelle shouted at a young man with midnight blue hair, standing in their way. He stumbled back and narrowly dodged the bed.

Robin was no longer paying attention to her surroundings. She was focused. In the zone. Robin's ability to perceive pain in her wrists was cancelled out by adrenaline. Her shoulders were tense as she pressed the heel of her palm against the dying man's chest. Her ponytail was loose from all the action, but she didn't notice that the hair tie was slipping. The hair fringes that she usually pinned back when working slipped out of their bobby pins and began to tickle her cheeks. Robin took no notice. She had a man to save.

* * *

Chrom tried to swallow the regret he felt when he entered the ER of Ylisstol General Hospital. The ER was packed tighter than a pack of sardines. The hands and scrubs of the medical staff were soaked with crimson. The dying casualties were drenched in their own blood with faces crumpled with pain and tears. Some merely stared off into the distance with glassy eyes. One of the patients with lifeless eyes was staring right at him. A child with two braids, probably no older than ten.

His breath hitched. She was someone's child. Someone's daughter, grand-daughter, niece, friend. And now, she was gone. Her life was taken from her. Her future was taken from her. She was robbed of her chance of growing up, chasing her dreams and aspirations, and finding love.

The moment he shared with the deceased child came to an end when someone finally put a sheet over her.

It was a maliciously orchestrated mass murder by the God Grima himself.

Helplessness dug its fangs into his mind as his eyes darted around the ER. He couldn't do anything for any of these people.

"Get out of the way!" he heard someone shout. He slowly turned his head to see a bed zooming towards him. Shocked, he was slow to register that he was in the way. There was someone in scrubs on top of the patient on the bed. Shit, he was in their way. He stumbled back and watched the team push the bed down the hall.

And there she was. The crazy woman who stole his bike doing chest compressions on the dying man being wheeled off to most likely the operating room.

Her eyebrows knitted with intense concentration. Her hair was slipping out of place. Her scrubs had smears of red like she had decided to paint that day and the colour she specially chose was red. Blood red.

He felt magnetic chills studying the young woman who had just a while ago, acted like an entitled brat, have such prowess. There she was. Trying to save someone's life.

Then just as how she quickly appeared in his life earlier that day, she vanished again, around the corner.

* * *

The young policeman draped his body over the chair in the waiting room. Gods, the wait times were ridiculously long in the Emergency Room. They should do something about that. Someone could die while they're _waiting_ for medical attention, he bitterly thought.

If people could die from boredom and impatience, he would be dead already. He would've rather invested his time waiting for that cursed woman for a three day stake-out with Vaike than sit another hour in the ER. And that was saying a lot. Because spending more than an hour with Vaike was the equivalent to being tortured. His competitiveness with Chrom was the epitome of irritating.

There was no clock in the waiting room to see how much time had passed. He swore he had been sitting there for at least two days. He massaged his neck. Chrom considered going back to the ER and using his police badge, but he had gotten an earful from that cranky old nurse when he asked for the doctor with the ponytail. Chrom was no pushover. Usually. But this nurse was large enough to snap him in half. He didn't want to risk it.

He didn't even get a name because the cranky old nurse had run off to do something else. But not before giving him a glare.

So, here he was. Waiting. For the crazy…no, she didn't seem that crazy anymore. For the heroic…? No, she stole his bike! Thief. That's right. Thief and disturber of traffic peace. He settled on that. He would use that line once he saw her.

The entrance to the waiting room slid open and a man casually clad in a crisp black suit and black tie walked in. Everyone in the waiting room perked up a little and gave the man poorly concealed glances. He had a particular air around him. Foreign was the word that fit best. Apparently, 'foreign' was in according to Cordelia at the police station.

The change in the atmosphere didn't go unnoticed to Chrom. He perked up to see the new visitor. He didn't hail from here, that was for sure. He looked like he came from Chon'sin. He had a dark tousled headful of hair accompanied by a serious gaze. The stranger looked like he hadn't ever cracked a smile in his life.

Chrom was still slouched in the chair with his arms crossed, only moving his head and eyes to look at the man. Meh, he wasn't that interesting. Chrom went back to staring at the blank wall. The suited stranger scanned the room and walked over to the seat near Chrom. The tall figure sat down across from Chrom, blocking Chrom's remaining source of amusement: the wall.

"Davis Tafigne?" the cranky old nurse came out. A man nursing a broken arm stood up and wimped his way to the nurse.

"Oh, are you off, Dr. Grima?" the cranky old nurse asked.

"Yeah, I am. I was ordered to go home for a bit," a familiar voice chuckled with fatigue heavy in each word.

The stranger looked ahead behind Chrom. Chrom immediately swivelled around in his seat like a child hearing their parent finally picking them up from daycare after all the kids had already left.

"You've had a long day," the nurse said monotonously, but Robin knew that she meant every word.

"Carol, so have you," Robin patted her on the shoulder.

Chrom watched the nurse gesture Robin closer and then cover their mouths with the clipboard she was holding. At one point she pointed blatantly in his direction and Robin's eyes darted up to him. She scowled and then laughed.

"Thanks, Carol. You're the best," Robin gave the nurse a hug.

"Girl, you better let me go. I have back issues," Carol muttered. Carol gave Chrom one last dirty look and waddled away with Davis Tafigne.

Robin waved with an exhausted smile in his direction. Chrom reflexively smiled back and waved. That's what people do. Smile back when someone else smiles at them. She was finally giving herself up. His patience was rewarded! Maybe that nurse was on his side and was only pretending to be mean.

She walked right past him to the man who had sat himself in front of Chrom.

"Miss, you disappeared," the man said in a deep voice, standing up. He was significantly taller than the thief and disturber of traffic peace.

"Ah, sorry, Lon'qu. You know how it is," she apologized.

She was waving to the man named Lon'qu. Chrom felt embarrassment rise to his face.

"W-where's my bike?" he butted in.

The thief and disturber of traffic peace and the handsome stranger named Lon'qu both diverted their attentions from each other and stared at Chrom.

"Sorry?" Robin stuck out her neck a little.

"You stole my bike and ran from me earlier," Chrom said more confidently. He had waited hours to confront her and he hadn't even thought of what to say exactly but instead nicknamed her. He should've thought a little harder on a plan.

"Is this man bothering you?" Lon'qu gently pushed Robin behind him and stood between them.

"Mmm," Robin hummed trying to remember the man.

Lon'qu narrowed his eyes.

"Look I'm a police officer and _you_ ," Chrom stabbed a finger in the direction towards Robin, "are a thief and a disturber of traffic peace."

He heard Lon'qu scoff. Chrom glowered at the man.

"Gods," Robin threw her head back. "It's _you_."

"So, you remember me now, huh?" Chrom crossed his arms and felt a little proud of himself.

"You waited all this time for me?" Robin gave him a disgruntled, judgemental look.

"I'm doing my job," Chrom took a step closer. Lon'qu took a step towards him in response.

"It's okay. It's some crazy person who likes to cosplay as a police officer," Robin reassured Lon'qu.

"I'm a real police officer," Chrom took out his badge and stuck it out in front of her face.

Robin studied it for a bored moment. "Huh," she exhaled. "How much do you think it cost to make such a realistic fake, Lon'qu?"

"No idea, Miss," he humoured her ponderings.

Before Chrom could say another word, Robin cut in, "Let's go outside and deal with this, there are patients here. You might want to take that helmet off, you look silly."

Chrom didn't realize he was still wearing his helmet. With a slight blush, he unclipped it and shoved it under his arm. He followed the thief/disturber of traffic peace and her sidekick.

"I swear, it was around here," Robin murmured to herself at the entrance of the hospital.

"Did you lock it up?" Chrom asked.

Robin went quiet for a second. "Shit," Chrom heard her curse.

"You're not serious, are you?" Chrom sighed. "That's coming out of my paycheck."

"What paycheck?" Robin inquired.

"That was Ylisse Police property. Frederick is going to take it out of my paycheck," Chrom elaborated.

"You're actually a police officer?" gasped Robin.

"That's what I've been telling you!" Chrom yelled.

"Miss, you have rights. Should I call Priam?" Lon'qu interrupted.

"No, it's fine," Robin waved her hand. "No need to call the crazy horndog."

"Name and ID," Chrom demanded.

"Look officer, I've had a long day," Robin smiled as sweetly as she could.

Nope, he was not buying it. "Name and ID."

"You probably saw all those patients. We lost a lot of people today because of the accident," Robin continued.

Nope, he was not letting her go. "Name and ID."

"I've had a long day. You've had a long day from the looks of it. I'll pay for the bike," Robin dug into her backpack to pull out a wallet. "How much?"

That wasn't the issue at hand!

"It's not a matter of you paying me! You're getting a fine for jaywalking in one of the busiest intersections in Ylisstol and failure to cooperate with the police!" Chrom's patience was going down the drain fast. "Now give me your name and ID!"

The woman looked taken aback at him raising his voice.

"Robin Grima," she stated finally, then paused for a couple seconds. Then, she exploded. "Fuck the Gods! You stalked me on this awful bloody day for _jaywalking_?" Robin gave an exasperated cry. "Are you fucking kidding me?! People were _dying_ and I needed to be _here_ as soon as _possible_ and you were trying to stop me for _jaywalking_?"

"And you stole my bike," Chrom added with his pen and pad ready to fine her.

"You just discredited that seconds ago!" Robin yelled.

"You broke the law," he responded calmly.

"Your priorities are fucked up! Go do something important instead of harassing people like this!" Robin stomped a foot. "Lon'qu, where did you park the car? We're leaving." Chrom winced.

"Hey," Chrom called. She ignored him angrily. Chrom didn't want to deal with this anymore. He wanted to go home. He hated traffic patrol duty. He watched Robin Grima and Lon'qu walk away. Fine. He'd let it go this time. She did look tuckered out after such a day. He didn't think he could take her boyfriend and her by himself, since he hadn't slept at all and he saw the sun coming up.

Chrom wondered if the patient he saw earlier survived. "Fine, since you had a _really_ good reason this time, I'll let it go!" he shouted. Their response was the car door slamming. "Just this once!"

It was the first time he ever let something slide.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I see Chrom as someone who utterly and completely follows through with what he believes in (in this case, the law) to the point where he comes off as slightly crazy...then I worried about how he kinda came off as idiotic. To me, Chrom is an awkward, honest person, so I just ran with it.

I will definitely develop everyone's character more as I write out the story. But you can definitely tell who's priorities lie where.


	3. Wake-Up Call

**Chapter 3 - Wake-Up Call**

The anger that Robin had been exuding earlier had dissipated into a melancholic fatigue. Her back was turned to Lon'qu and her eyes lazily flickered to anything that caught her interest.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Miss?" Lon'qu coolly inquired.

"Mmm," Robin hummed.

The heavy silence fell between them again. Lon'qu used to shift uncomfortably in his seat whenever Robin did this, but he had gotten used to it. Even good people had bad days.

 _Sniffle_.

Lon'qu tensed. Robin sniffled again and he saw from the corner of his eye that she brought up a hand to her face.

"Miss?" Lon'qu inquired as he came to a smooth stop at the red light.

"Drop the formalities already, Lon'qu," Robin cried.

Lon'qu sighed. "Robin." The light had turned green and he pressed the accelerator again.

"So many died today," she buried her face into her hands and sobbed. Her exhaustion had finally caught up to her. She usually upheld a calm demeanour, but she still had moments of raw emotions. Robin leaned against the dashboard and continued to cry and sniffle, taking sharp breaths of air occasionally. "What's the point of being a doctor if I can't save everyone?!" she cried.

Lon'qu's grip on the wheel tightened. It tore him apart listening to Robin cry. She always did her utmost best at everything. He knew, because he had spent the last five years with her. And yet, there was nothing he could do for her at this moment. His chest tightened and ached for his dear heiress. They still had another twenty minutes before arriving home.

Finally, he managed to say, "More would've died if you weren't there."

Robin bawled even harder.

That wasn't helpful at all, he mentally kicked himself.

"W-why…are y-you…s-s-so k-kind to m-me?" Robin unveiled her emotionally distraught face. She had snot running from her nose and her eyes were red. Robin wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve, leaving a wet trail on her sleeve.

Lon'qu reached to the back of the car, searching around for the box of tissues he always kept for moments like these. He swerved for a moment as a result, but he was rewarded with a box of tissues. Lon'qu held it up to Robin.

She pulled out a tissue and blew her nose into it. After, she murmured between hiccups, "I'm such an ugly crier. Sorry you had to see that, Lon'qu. Again."

"It's fine," Lon'qu grunted.

Robin quieted down and merely stared out the front window of the car. Occasionally, she would sniffle. Then, she frowned. "Lon'qu, why aren't we going the usual way?"

Lon'qu hesitated for a moment before answering, "The accident."

"Oh," Robin whispered.

"It's been blocked off as a crime scene, and it's being investigated," added Lon'qu. "It appears that a bomb went off."

"What?" she demanded darkly.

"Details aren't clear, but it was one of our…" Lon'qu was slow to finish his sentence, "shipments."

The woman in the passenger seat stiffened at the word. Robin had been adamant that they keep her out of the on-goings of the syndicate. But this was unacceptable.

"Drugs or live cargo?" she asked questioned in a stern voice.

"Drugs," Lon'qu answered. He heard her let out a sigh of relief.

"Who would do such a thing?" Robin thought out loud.

"Miss, you don't have to get involved," Lon'qu reminded in a serious voice.

"It must be the warning," Robin deducted.

"Miss, don't get involved," Lon'qu pleaded in a dark voice with a hint of concern.

"We're expanding too fast," Robin concluded. "The Chon'sin Triad is sending a message. Let him know."

"Yes, Miss," Lon'qu nodded once.

"Was it in the news today?" Robin asked.

Lon'qu turned into the basement parking lot of their apartment. "Yes. An explosion went off on Valencia and Second Avenue. It resulted in the biggest car accident in the history of Ylisstol. A school bus was flipped as a result and there was a pile up collision of forty-three cars."

"I'm sorry," she whispered to no one as she returned to staring out the window.

* * *

An irritating buzzing sound itched at Chrom's ears. He tossed and turned, grabbing his pillow and covering it over his head. His phone didn't cease to stop vibrating against his night stand.

"Alright! Alright!" His hand blindly flopped around his night stand. After a couple more attempts, his hand landed on his phone. His sleepy eyes squinted at his phone.

 _Frederick Knight_  
 _XXX-XXX-XXXX_

Chrom rubbed his face with his hand and then swiped it. He cleared his throat, "Officer Chrom Exalt speaking."

"Chrom, I said to take the day off, not two," Frederick lectured.

"Gods," Chrom sat up and checked his phone. _11:07 AM_.

"Is something going on? Are you rebelling?" asked Frederick.

"No, no. Sorry, sir, I had a long night. I should've called in," Chrom sat up.

There was a silence on the end of the phone. Frederick was waiting for him to explain.

"Some woman jaywalked across the street, then wouldn't give me her name or ID when I chased after her," said Chrom.

"You chased her?" Frederick clarified in an unamused tone.

"Let me finish. Then she shoved me and stole my bike. I had to wait in the ER waiting room for an entire night until I found her because this cranky nurse wouldn't let me do my job," Chrom rubbed his temples.

"Did you get the bike back?" Frederick answered everything he said with a question.

"Uh," Chrom thought for a moment. "No."

"It's coming out of your paycheck," Frederick said on the phone.

Chrom simultaneously said, "It's coming out of my paycheck", with Frederick.

"You should've just let it slide, Chrom," Frederick lectured.

"I did," Chrom's lips pulled into a tight line.

"You did?" Frederick sounded surprise. A tone that Chrom didn't hear often.

"Yeah. She told me I need to set my priorities straight or something. Or something about doing my job," Chrom frowned as he said the absurd words.

Frederick laughed. He laughed!

"Not funny, Chief," Chrom snapped.

"It's hilarious! I think this is the first time you let something go," Frederick chuckled. "You can't turn your back on anything. It's your fatal flaw. You need to loosen up."

Loosen up. The words echoed in his mind. "I never would've thought you of all people would say that," Chrom sighed.

"Chrom, you're young. Don't try to get yourself killed before it's your time," Frederick sighed.

"I'll try, sir," Chrom half-heartedly responded.

"I need you here ASAP," Frederick ordered.

"Yes, sir—wait, is my probation over?" Chrom failed to conceal his excitement.

"We have some new events that need to be investigated," Frederick briefly explained. "I know you wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I left you out."

"I won't disappoint you, sir," Chrom jumped out of bed.

"Bye," Frederick hung up.

It was another new day. A fresh start. Even if he did wake up almost five hours later than usual.

* * *

Lon'qu paced about in the open-concept condo. He made a spinach goat cheese omelette and fresh strawberry juice for Robin. It was almost noon, but Robin was still sleeping like a rock in her room. She needed to eat. She probably hadn't eaten anything after yesterday's lunch. Knowing her, she probably raided some of the other doctors' food in the lounge and the vending machine.

He should wake her up, feed her, and let her sleep again. Except one problem. Waking up Robin was always…difficult. He brought his hand up to his mouth in hesitation.

Usually, she woke up when she was hungry. Often, Robin would be wearing her giant _University of Ylisstol: Property of the Medical School_ with the shoulder slipping off on one side absent of a bra strap on that one shoulder. She rarely remembered to wear a bra when she woke up, despite his constant displeased chastising. She would simply stick out the tip of her tongue and smile coyly whenever he lectured her while furiously blushing. Luckily for Lon'qu's sanity, she wore pyjama shorts.

Lon'qu stopped in front of her door. He brought up his hand and knocked twice. Nothing. He knocked twice again. Nothing again.

"I'm coming in," Lon'qu announced and walked into the room.

The curtains did a poor job of concealing the sunlight that was shining on Robin's fair skin. Robin had buried herself in her duvet covers, while still hugging the sheets between her legs. There was something innocent, yet erotic about it. He blushed.

Gently, he sat down on the bed. Robin's body shifted slightly towards his weight. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Robin," he shook her softly.

Robin stirred in her sleep. Maybe it would be different this time, he thought to himself.

"Robin, you need to eat," he coaxed her awake.

She gave a single moan in protest. Lon'qu felt himself become flustered.

"Robin, you can sleep after you eat something," he gave her shoulder a tight squeeze.

Robin abruptly bolted up with a terrified gasp and gathered herself at the head of the bed. Her body was on edge. Her groggy eyes were alert and drowning in an emotion Lon'qu had seen too often in his profession.

Fear.

"It's just me," Lon'qu stood up and stepped back, giving her space.

Robin rubbed her face and calmed down, "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize when you've done nothing wrong, Miss," he waved a nonchalant hand as he left her room. "Come eat. You can go back to bed after."

Robin was fine waking up on her own with an alarm, but whenever someone else woke her up, she always reacted like that. As if she woke up in a nightmare. Lon'qu never asked why she reacted like that. She never asked him his backstory. It was a wordless agreement they shared. Some secrets were meant to remain...well, secrets.

Lon'qu heard Robin shuffling about in her room. He went back to the kitchen to warm up the omelette and to give the strawberry juice a vigorous shake. Robin came out fully dressed and washed up. The table was already set by the time Robin sat down to eat.

"You know you don't have to do this," Robin smiled. "My father didn't hire you to _literally_ take care of me."

"If I didn't do this, you'd eat out all the time," Lon'qu sat down across from her.

"Mmm, I love your strawberry juice," Robin ate happily. "Gods, your omelettes are to die for too."

"Thank you," Lon'qu bowed his head.

"You gotta drop the formalities," Robin pointed her fork at him. "It's really irritating."

"You're still my superior," he reminded.

"Not here," Robin shook her head. She took another huge gulp of the strawberry juice. "Did I mention I love your juice?"

"You did," the ends of his lips curved ever so slightly. Lon'qu watched Robin wolf down the rest of her food. This woman didn't know how to eat slow. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Mmm?" she chewed her food.

"You're dressed. Do you need me to take you somewhere?" Lon'qu asked.

"I'm going to the police station. That poor officer looked so poor. Maybe he's still paying off his student debts. I feel bad for borrowing his bike and then losing it. It's going to come out of his pay cheque," said Robin.

"The Ylissean Government pays for Police Academy," Lon'qu grunted a response.

"Oh," Robin perked up. "Didn't know that."

"That's why it is incredibly competitive to get into Police Academy here," Lon'qu explained. "Only the best get in."

"That officer was kinda idiotic in my opinion," Robin snorted. "Either way, I'll be fine on my own," she waved her hand.

"I can't let you go by yourself, Miss," Lon'qu frowned. "Not after what happened yesterday. We can't predict their next moves and nothing has been confirmed."

"They don't know who I am. They don't know who you are," Robin tried to persuade the stubborn man.

"Robin," Lon'qu said sternly.

Robin's eyes met Lon'qu's eyes. She gave in, "Fine."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

I have no idea how the story is being received so far...I'm hoping it's good. If you have a couple minutes to spare, I'd love to hear what you readers think so far.

BONUS!

The recipe for Lon'qu's strawberry juice:

\- fresh halved strawberries

\- 1:3 ratio of water to strawberry volume in blender (or less, if you want a thicker juice)

\- ice (not too much)


	4. What If

**Chapter 4 - What If**

"As you all have heard on the news earlier, a bomb went off on Marth and Seventh Avenue," Frederick stood at the front of the debrief room. "Now, some are saying it was a terrorist attack, but I'm speculating that it isn't."

Cordelia raised her hand. "Yes, Cordelia," Frederick called on her.

"Just because we're not aware of extremists present in Ylisstol doesn't mean we may not have any, Chief," she rationalized.

"I am aware," Frederick nodded. "I had an intel agent report to me that the van that blew up looked similar to the drug cargo van the Grima Syndicate was using as a cover." The deputy chief clicked the projector mouse to show the picture of a large white van with 'Amelie's Bakery' on it. He clicked again. Photos of the aftermath of the explosion showed up on the screen.

The mood darkened in the room. The previous white van was charred and in pieces. The school bus was flipped over and torn open. Several cars had been piled upon each other, resulting in a tight game of morbid Tetris.

Sully made a sound of disgust.

"This is the first lead we've had in a while now," Frederick continued. "Chrom."

"Yes, Chief?" responded Chrom. He was at the back studying the picture intently with both arms crossed and a furrowed brow.

"What do you think?" Frederick inquired.

Chrom remained quiet for a couple more moments before saying a word. All eyes were on him. He couldn't believe he had missed the accident. He needed to work on not fixating on one thing at a time. He would miss the entire picture. He took his time logically organizing an explanation.

"If it's an external struggle," Chrom began slowly. "It could be a competitor warning Grima or trying to scare them off. But if it's an internal struggle, for all we know, they could be eliminating people that are compromising the organization."

"Excellent deduction. This is more complicated than cracking down on a single gang," Frederick warned. "We are dealing with an international criminal organization here. We can't take them down unless we have more evidence. I need everyone investigating the moment you step out of this room. Find out more about the hierarchy of Grima and whether this bombing is indeed linked with them. If it is, establish if it was a result of an external or internal struggle."

"Yes, Chief!" everyone in the room shouted.

"The Vaikenator won't let ya down, Chief!" Vaike added.

"Dismissed," Frederick turned the lights back on.

The special unit of the Special Tactics and Investigation Division one-by-one filed out of the room. Chrom was the last to leave and was met by Sumia.

"Chrom?" she said in a quiet voice.

"Oh, hey, Sumia," he smiled.

"Someone's here to see you," she told him.

"Okay, I'll be right there," Chrom nodded. He watched Sumia scurry off to do something, but not before tripping and face-planting in the ground. "Gods, Sumia! Are you okay?" he rushed to her side and helped her up.

"I-I'm fine!" she blushed, not being able to meet his eyes. "I have to go and uh—feed the new recruits, I mean, the new dogs," she shook her head.

"Be careful!" Chrom called out.

"You're terrible," said a voice beside him.

"What did I do _this_ time?" Chrom sighed at his red-headed friend.

"You don't even realize that you have this effect on them. You're all nice and gentleman-like," Sully shook her head. "Your kind of men are the worst."

"I didn't do anything! I helped her up!" Chrom protested.

"Oh, yeah?" Sully raised an eyebrow. "I wonder if that's how Sumia interpreted that. You're so oblivious."

"I am so lost right now," Chrom shook his head.

"Oh, my lovely flower!" sing-songed a voice with a thick Rosannian accent.

"Shit, he found me. Whatever, man," Sully slapped him on the back. She winded him. As usual.

"Sully, you need to stop doing that," Chrom squirmed, trying to rub his back with his hands in poor attempts to alleviate the stinging pain.

"It wasn't that hard. Suck it up," Sully ran away.

"Oh, dear Chrom, have you seen my delicate rose?" a man with greyish blue hair dramatically appeared in front of Chrom.

"I think Sully went that way, Virion," Chrom pointed in the opposite direction of where Sully had escaped. She would've done the same for him if he were in this situation.

"Thank you, dear friend," Virion pranced off.

Chrom had no idea how someone so loud and…outgoing, to put it politely, was one of the best snipers in their division. He was also surprised Virion hadn't gotten a workplace sexual harassment suit filed against him.

Chrom eventually made his way back to his desk. In front of his desk, sat a young lady with a long dark ponytail. She had her legs crossed with one foot bouncing, waiting impatiently. She was dressed in a pair of tight-fitting pants paired with a light pink blouse. Beside her, a tall young man dressed in a black suit kept her company.

"Eugh, I should've just come in sweats or my scrubs, Lon'qu," the woman complained in a manner that clashed with her lovely image. The man grunted in response. "But I promised Aversa I'd _try_ to be pretty."

"Would you like anything to drink?" asked a young policewoman.

The man beside the woman growled in response, scaring the poor girl away.

"You know, it won't kill you to be a little nicer to women," the woman in the seat reminded. "And she's cute, you could settle down, have a family, et cetera, et cetera, and all the things normal people do."

"Enough," he firmly shut her down.

"Hi, sorry about the wait," Chrom said slowly as he approached the two. The woman stood up and extended her hand. Chrom shook her hand. Oh Gods, it was _her_. He didn't recognize her without her scrubs on.

"Robin Grima," she introduced herself.

"Officer Chrom Exalt," he introduced himself. "Now, how can I help you?"

"I'm really sorry about yesterday. I came to pay for your stolen bike." Chrom settled down in his chair across the desk from Robin.

Grima. He hadn't made the connection earlier, but it was an ironic last name. It was a surname with a lot of weight. She couldn't be possibly linked to the Grima Syndicate. No criminal in their right mind would walk into the police station on free will. Besides, the public didn't know the details of what had been going on. The police force and the government had done their best to keep it hushed to prevent panic.

He thought he had seen the last of her. "Does your...umm…boyfriend want a seat?"

Robin glanced up at Lon'qu. "Well, I asked him that at least eleven times, but he insists that he stands."

"Is Grima a common surname?" Chrom inquired curiously. The man beside her glowered at Chrom.

"Huh?" Robin asked. "Oh, yeah, I guess it is pretty common where I'm from."

See, Chrom? It is a common last name. There was no need to go around and jump to conclusions. The name Grima was given to the syndicate currently terrorizing Ylisse because they used the symbol of the old god Grima. It was simply a coincidence that this woman had the same last name. It was kind of like how the name 'Tiki', the name of a mythical dragon, was popular for girls.

"Anyway, how much?" she quickly changed the topic.

"How much what?" Chrom responded.

"The bike," Robin provided a curt answer.

"Don't worry about it. I'm letting it _slide_ ," he enunciated the last word. He was learning the 'loosen up'.

"No, I can't do that to you. I caused you a lot of trouble the other day," Robin laughed politely.

Who was this woman? Yesterday she looked like she was about to verbally murder him, and now she was trying to charm him? He didn't know how to deal with her. But he was in a dapper mood: he was no longer on traffic duty.

"I insist, it's fine," Chrom forced a smile. It wasn't actually fine. But he was over it. Completely. Yup. He was 'loosening up'.

"Officer Exalt?" called a deep voice from the side.

"Chief," Chrom sat up straight.

Frederick made his way to Chrom's desk with a folder in hand. "Are you busy?"

"I'll be done soon," Chrom answered.

"Ah, Dr. Grima," Frederick smiled.

"Oh, Officer Knight," she strained a smile.

"How do you know her, sir?" Chrom asked.

"Well, let's just say we've had a lot of encounters, haven't we, Dr. Grima?" Frederick politely chuckled.

"Yes, yes we have," Robin faked a laugh, glancing at Lon'qu nervously.

"Now, how can we be of assistance?" asked Frederick.

"I was trying to pay your officer back. But he's refusing me," Robin explained.

"For the bike?"

"Oh, you're always so quick."

"You're too kind."

"Yes, for the bike."

Frederick turned his head to look at Chrom. "I told her it was fine," Chrom answered. "I'm letting it _slide_."

Frederick failed to mask the snort directed at Chrom. "Officer Exalt says it's fine," Frederick reassured. "No need for you to worry. Running into you was a good lesson for him."

"I see," Robin said dryly. That was definitely a backhanded compliment.

"Let's go," Lon'qu stated. It wasn't a suggestion. It was a decision he had made for her.

"Well, I'll leave you fine gentlemen to keep Ylisstol safe," Robin bid them good-bye and left.

* * *

"Why was that cop so familiar with you?" Lon'qu inquired on the drive back home.

"It's nothing," Robin brushed it aside.

"I can't protect you unless I know these things," Lon'qu raised his voice.

"It's nothing!" Robin matched his volume. They were at a stalemate. "It's nothing," she repeated more quietly, hoping to tip the scales in her favour.

Lon'qu didn't say another word. Robin knew he was annoyed with her. Another five minutes dragged by in the strangling silence. Then, she broke. If she didn't say something, this would go on for another twenty minutes. She didn't know if she could handle getting the silent treatment from Lon'qu.

"Okay, fine. Fine!" Robin surrendered.

Lon'qu didn't react. She was too honest for her own good. It was going to be end of her one day.

"He was my friend…" she cleared her throat, "with benefits," Robin added in a voice an octave higher. She saw Lon'qu bring a hand up to his mouth as he usually did when he was flustered. His cheeks bloomed pink.

A pregnant silence loomed over them in the car. "Y-You know better than that," he stuttered behind his hand.

"What?" said Robin. "I can't hear you."

Lon'qu said in a clearer voice, "What were you thinking?"

"I have _needs_ , Lon'qu," Robin huffed. "You didn't actually think I was a virgin, did you? Masturbating can only get me so far."

Lon'qu awkwardly cleared his throat. Robin remained quiet, avoiding eye contact.

Then suddenly, Robin began to cackle evilly beside him, "Oh my Gods. You fell for it!" Robin didn't dare tell Lon'qu the real reason. He would be distraught if he found out that she had a record and blame himself for not being available at her every waking moment. Being in the system was never good. Especially as a Grima.

Confusion plagued Lon'qu's face as he listened to the heiress laugh herself silly. Even if it was at his expense, he enjoyed hearing her laugh.

Robin wiped away a tear. "Gods, my sides! I like you so much more than Priam."

He scoffed. It wasn't that hard to be more likeable than Priam since Robin had an utter distaste for the man.

"I can't believe you fell for that. Why would I sleep with a cop? I'm not _insane_. You probably would've caught me if I was sleeping with a cop. Because you know _everything._ You follow me better than my own shadow," Robin shook her head. "Sleeping with a cop in my family would result in…" Robin trailed off. "Hmm, maybe I should try it and see if they—"

"Don't you dare, Robin," Lon'qu interrupted in a dark voice.

"I'm kidding," Robin said half-heartedly. It wouldn't be a bad idea.

"I'm not. I'm serious," he shot her a glare. She really ticked him off this time. Well, she spent the one trolling poor Lon'qu could handle every couple months. She'd have to wait another couple months before she could bother the poor man again.

"I know," she smiled apologetically at him.

"Don't do anything that stupid," he said.

"Okay," she agreed. She hated promises. She learned as a child that promises were always broken. Just like rules and the law.

Robin went back to her usual pastime when Lon'qu was driving them to their destination: staring out the window. When they were almost home, Robin asked, "What if I actually fell in love with a cop?"

"I am not in the mood to humour your 'what if' questions," Lon'qu pulled into the basement parking lot.

But she meant it. What if.

* * *

Robin stifled a yawn. She sleepily blinked at the plain analog clock. It was half past three in the morning. She hated night shifts. She had already checked on all her patients. Twice. But for once, it was quiet. It was strange for the hospital to be this quiet. Nevertheless, she was grateful for it.

"I feel myself aging, Robin," the nurse behind the counter moaned in agony. "I can't do this anymore. I'm not young like I used to be."

"Maribelle, you're _younger_ than me," Robin joined her behind the counter and sat down in a chair and twirled.

"I need my beauty sleep," she said desperately. "And tea time."

"We're almost done," Robin yawned again. Maribelle yawned.

"Stop yawning! It's contagious," Maribelle hissed. "I'll get wrinkles around my mouth."

"Eugh," Robin groaned. "Drama queen."

"I feel myself getting uglier by the second," Maribelle cried.

"You are gorgeous, girl," Robin coaxed her.

"You're just saying that," Maribelle rested her head on the desk. Robin followed suit and stared back at her nurse friend.

"I'm serious. You're pretty no matter how tired you are. I wish I looked half as good as you at your worst," Robin complimented genuinely. The blonde nurse pouted at her friend. Before Maribelle could respond, the ER doors slid open.

"Doctor!" yelled a voice. Robin immediately bolted up. In came a red-headed woman in full police gear with Officer Knight beside her. In between them was a man with blue hair leaving drops of blood with every step.

"I'm fine, guys," he reassured them. His hand was firmly placed on top of a red dressing.

"You're not fine, Chrom," Frederick snapped.

Robin ran over and ushered them to a bed. Maribelle followed behind her, pushing a cart full of sterilized and sanitized medical equipment.

"What happened?" Robin looked to Frederick and the young policewoman with a calm demeanour.

"He got stabbed," the young policewoman answered, giving Chrom a dirty glower. She punched him in the shoulder. "I told you not to go in alone, you stupid shit." Robin rewarded the policewoman with a what-in-the-world-do-you-think-you're-doing scowl.

"Hey!" Chrom gritted his teeth rubbing his shoulder.

"Sully, don't give the doctor more work to do," Frederick pulled her back.

"Okay, I'm going to need you guys to leave. Now," Robin kicked them out and drew the curtains. She slipped on a pair of clean gloves before getting to work.

"Hello, Officer Exalt," Robin smiled politely. Albeit, he was a weird man, she withheld all judgement when she did her job. "I'm Dr. Grima and this is Nurse Provence. We're going to help you."

"We meet again, Robin," Chrom gave her a pained smile. "Hey, Maribelle," Chrom gave a small wave in Maribelle's direction.

Robin looked to Maribelle and then Chrom. "Lissa is going to be pissed," Maribelle simply held her nose in the air.

"You two know each other?" Robin asked.

"He's my best friend's older brother," Maribelle answered nonchalantly.

Chrom winced at Robin's touch. "Please be gentle."

"I'll do my best," Robin promised and firmly placed a hand over the dressing he was holding onto. "Okay, I want you to take your hand away." Chrom did as he was told.

"We're going to have to cut his clothes," Robin told Maribelle who was now wide awake. Maribelle handed Robin the scissors.

"Wait, is this necessary?" Chrom sat up abruptly and groaned in agony as a result. Serves him right.

"Lie down, we haven't assessed all your injuries yet," Robin pushed him back down. She began to cut his pant legging open starting from the bloodied slit. Maribelle handed new dressing to Robin as she examined the wound on his left thigh. It bled, but it was superficial. A couple stitches would be do the job. She moved onto the next wound on his lower abdomen. It was the same: it only required a couple stitches. Whoever 'stabbed' him didn't do a very good job of stabbing him. It looked like the offender simply nicked him with a short blade. Robin had seen worse. Especially in Plegia.

"It's nothing you have to worry about. We're going to clean the wounds and stitch you up. You'll be fine," Robin felt around his body one last time to make sure he didn't have additional injuries.

"Can you keep this between us, Maribelle?" Chrom pleaded.

Maribelle narrowed her tired eyes, which were decorated with an equally exhausted pair of dark circles.

"I don't think that's a possibility. She's not in a good mood tonight, Officer," Robin answered for her.

* * *

Maribelle had left to fill out paperwork, while the female doctor remained by his side. Chrom swallowed. She was so close to him. He couldn't feel his stab wounds anymore because Robin had given him local anesthesia. She had dexterously finished the stitches on his thigh and was finishing up the one on his abdomen. He focused on the ceiling above him, trying to steady his breath. He felt her warmth. He felt terribly self-conscious.

"Okay, done," Robin said with triumph.

"Can I go home now?" Chrom tried to sit up again but his efforts were rewarded with Robin's firm hand on his bare chest. He felt heat rise to his face.

"Just because you can't feel the pain, doesn't mean you should be moving so much," Robin scolded.

Then the doctor did something unexpected. She brought up a gloved finger and brushed his bangs aside.

"What are you doing?" Chrom jerked his head back. His heart pounded in his chest.

"Hold still, I'm trying to see if you need stitches above your brow," Robin inched closer.

"I-It's fine!" he turned his head away.

"Hold still!" Robin repeated while grabbing his face firmly between both hands. "You're worse than the children!"

Chrom held still. Robin brushed his bangs aside again and examined the cut. "A couple butterfly stitches should be enough," she decided. "Don't want to leave a scar."

She turned around and grabbed more equipment necessary to clean his cut. Again, Robin inched closer, obviously to get a better look at the cut. He could smell her. She smelled like the hospital, but there was a subtle, warm sweetness from her body. It calmed him. He slowly inhaled her in, praying to Naga she wouldn't notice.

His eyes studied her face as she went to work again. She had a rounded face that made her appear younger than she probably was. Her straight brows were slanted in concentration and there was a crinkle in her nose. The doctor owned a pair of the most curious eyes—they were analytical, yet kind. Her small lips were paired with a plain nose. The one thing that caught his eye was the faint scar on her left cheek.

Something was missing. The man that was usually accompanying her. "Is your boyfriend okay with you working so late?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Hmm?" Robin hummed, focused on her work. She had peeled off one of the butterfly stitches and was meticulously positioning where she would place it.

"Your boyfriend. Is he okay with you working so late?" Chrom repeated.

"Boyfriend? Oh, Lon'qu? He's used to it by now, I'm guessing," Robin stuck on the stitch. Chrom saw the ends of her lips curl as she examined her handiwork. "Almost done."

"Thanks," he said.

"For what?" Robin placed the last butterfly stitch in place.

"For stitching me up," Chrom clarified.

"It's my job," Robin inverted her gloves into one another. "Don't praise me for doing the job I was educated and trained to do. It might go to my head."

He grinned at her. She seemed like an okay human being.

"Why is your face red?" Robin asked with concern. She placed one of her hands on his forehead, and the other one on her own forehead to compare. Her touch felt cool against his skin. "It's not a fever."

"It's nothing," Chrom pulled away. He didn't have a fever. He was simply blushing.

"Alright," Robin hesitantly nodded. "Do you want me to get Officer Knight and the other policewoman?"

"Yeah, it would be nice to let them know I'm fine, like I mentioned earlier," Chrom yawned.

"Maribelle let them know that you were fine a long time ago," Robin stood up from her wheeled stool and shoved her hands into her pockets.

"By the way, how do you know the Chief?" Chrom raised an eyebrow.

"Chief? Oh, you mean Officer Knight," Robin laughed in an embarrassed manner. "I always ended up getting all my speeding tickets from him," Robin sighed. "Whenever I was speeding to get to the hospital for emergencies, it just happened that whenever I was on-call, he was on-duty. Boy, did he stop me _every_ fucking time. Whoever thinks flirting is the best way to get out of a speeding ticket hasn't met Officer Knight."

"Sounds like noble, righteous Frederick," Chrom chuckled.

"Fortunately, no one ever died, because he would give me the ticket and then escort me here," she added with satisfaction. "Then, I got my license suspended, so now I don't see him as often. Lon'qu is usually nice enough to drop me off or I just take the subway."

"What happened to the patient from last time?" Chrom asked. He watched Robin's tired face answer him with a perplexed frown. "The one you were doing CPR to? While they were wheeling you away?" he quickly added.

"Oh, him. Wait, how do you know about that?" Robin inquired.

"I was standing in the hallway when you and some other doctors were rushing off somewhere," Chrom said sheepishly.

"Wow, you're a stubborn one, aren't you," Robin said flatly with a look that was nothing short of judgemental disbelief.

Chrom reminded, "I was doing my job."

"Not this again," Robin rolled her eyes. "I'm grabbing your colleagues and getting you your prescription."

"I won't mention it again," Chrom laughed good-naturedly at her reaction.

"He's recovering well and he made it home for his kid's eighth birthday," Robin called out to him over her shoulder.

A smile spread across his face. That was good. So she was just as good as her medical prowess implied.

Robin Grima was rather interesting.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

That concludes another chapter! Hope it made you smile~ ;)

If you have any thoughts and criticisms to offer, leave a review or message me! Thanks for reading another chapter of 'Pursuit'.


	5. On His Mind

**Chapter 5 - On His Mind**

"Chrom?"

 _The framework of the perpetrator's white van was reduced to its charred bare skeleton._

"Chrom?"

 _The school bus was torn open, vomiting out its seats on the blackened paved floor._

"Chrom?"

Chrom's eyes were fixed on the photos in front of him with intense concentration. In fact, he hadn't really moved at all.

"Chrom?"

 _The dead child's empty, soulless eyes on him. Her limp braids splayed on the hospital bed, soaking up her cold blood._

A sigh.

 _"Hold still!" she grabbed his face. "You're worse than the children." Her cool hands were on each side of his face. He felt her fingers brush across his forehead. "A couple butterfly stitches should be enough," she gave her verdict. "Don't want to leave a scar," she sweetly breathed. She smelled like the hospital, but kind of like vanilla—warm and calming._

 _And before she left, he swore he saw the ends of her lips curled._

Chrom tipped his head back absentmindedly and jumped in surprise. "You came out of nowhere, Sumia!"

"Umm, no," Sumia said quietly. "I actually called you a couple times."

"Sorry about that," Chrom apologized.

"I heard you got injured on the job," Sumia gave him a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

"I just needed a couple stitches, that's all," he answered. "Maribelle was the nurse on-call, so she tattled to Lissa, and Lissa gave me an earful. Then Lissa tattled to Emm, and Emm lectured me. So, you won't need to scold me. It's been done." Chrom provided Sumia a painful smile that resembled more of a grimace than a smile.

She smiled sympathetically and then brought her hand up to her own brow and bit her lip. "That doesn't look good."

Chrom mirrored Sumia and ran his fingers gingerly over the butterfly stitches. "Oh, it just looks bad. Don't worry about it. The doctor took really good care of me."

"You should be more careful, Chrom," Sumia sighed.

"Sumia, I'm fine. It's been a week already," Chrom reassured, leaning back into his seat

"How are your injuries healing?" Sumia asked.

"I haven't really kept an eye on them," he answered honestly. "I should go back and check with her."

"Her?" Sumia parroted his last word.

"The doctor," said Chrom.

"Aren't stitches dissolvable nowadays?" Sumia inquired.

"Oh, are they?" Chrom's calm visage lit up with fascination.

"Yeah," Sumia confirmed.

"I don't remember her mentioning that, so I guess I'll pop by the hospital, just to be safe," Chrom decided.

"Sumia!" Vaike walked up to the young lady. "What's that you got there behind you? Holy Naga, is that pie? Is that _your_ pie?"

"Huh?" Sumia was taken aback when Vaike snatched the box from her hands from behind her.

Vaike opened the lid of the white box. "Oh Gods, it is!" Vaike inhaled the contents of the box. "Peach pie!" Vaike identified excitedly. "Did you bring it for the meeting?"

"I, uh—," Sumia looked at the box and then back at Chrom.

"That was really nice of you, Sumia. Everyone loves your baking," Chrom beamed at her with encouragement.

"Y-yeah," Sumia murmured dejectedly. "It's for the meeting."

"I don't think I can wait that long," Vaike beamed and left with the box. Sumia reached out a hand momentarily at the box as Vaike took off with her pie and then brought it back to her side remorsefully.

"I guess I'll see you at the meeting. I need to go check something," Chrom organized his notes and neatly tucked them into a folder. He stood up and left.

"You should take care of yourself better!" Sumia finally mustered the courage to yell, but Chrom was already out of earshot. Sumia sighed and headed back to the kennels to check on the police puppies. She had been worried sick about Chrom all week after what Sully told her: Chrom had rashly ran into an illegal gambling house by himself and got himself stabbed when he should've waited for back-up. But it was only a week later that she managed to track him down. He was always on the move and he had just went off again.

* * *

Chrom had been redirected from the ER to a different wing of the hospital. He received a scolding from the cranky old nurse, Carol, for clogging up the ER over nothing and something about people like him made the wait hours long. He was hoping he'd get Robin to take a look at his stitches but he guessed not, seeing how Robin worked in the ER and he was now in the waiting room of only Naga knows where.

He looked around the waiting room and noted from the number of patients sitting near him that he still had a while to go. He quietly remained in his seat and allowed his eyes to wander to find things to do in the meanwhile. In one corner of the room was a precariously installed flat screen TV, muted with captions.

He decided he would catch up on news. Chrom settled himself into his seat and focused his attention on the news reporter silently moving her mouth. His eyes darted left to right as he read the black strips with white letters etched into them.

 _Plegia's federal election is coming up next month. Grima is running for his third term in office, and he is well ahead of the other candidates in the polls. He has been a beloved political figure ever since improved the Plegian economic depression as the Minister of Finance, over a decade ago. Grima has since then won the last two federal elections by a landslide and continues to be the favorite contender amongst the public._

Robin was right: Grima was a common surname in Plegia. Then, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the ends of an obsidian ponytail brush by in the hallway.

Ponytails were common, he rationalized Female doctors and nurses probably put their hair up in ponytails all the time when they worked. But, what if it was her. He didn't know when he'd see her again. Besides, he trusted her with his body. Of course, in a strictly professional patient-doctor relationship way. Immediately, he jumped to his feet and ran out after the ponytail. When he swerved out into the main hall, he saw that she was already quite a distance down the hall.

"I don't know if I can come home for a while," the woman in the ponytail spoke out loud. "No, of course, I miss you. You know I adore you. No, there isn't anyone. No, I'm not avoiding you."

"Robin! Robin Grima!" he called after her. The woman didn't turn around. He began running towards her, earning himself some glares from the people pushing patients in wheelchairs. Once he reached her, he grabbed her shoulder. The woman jumped at his touch and let out a yelp of surprise.

Swiftly, she pivoted on the spot and took a step back with an alarmed expression. It was her. He'd recognize her anywhere.

"Officer Exalt," she breathed, "You scared me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Chrom realized that she was talking to someone on the phone, noting the earphones with the small rectangular box on one side.

Robin grabbed the small microphone and spoke into it, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing."

"You're busy," Chrom told himself.

"I'm almost done," Robin mouthed to him. "I don't know if it's a good idea for you come over either. I told you I've been busy. No, I'm not avoiding you. I need to go. 'Kay. Love you. Bye." Robin removed the earphones and hung them around her neck. "How are you, Officer?"

"Just call me Chrom," he corrected. "I'm good, yourself?"

"Fine," Robin gave him a polite smile. "Do you need something?"

"My stitches," Chrom grinned.

"Uh-huh," Robin tried to follow. She had no idea why he was smiling so hard. It made her uneasy. She gave Chrom a couple seconds to elaborate but received no whatsoever additional details. "What about them?"

"Aren't I supposed to come see you to remove them?" he asked.

"I mentioned that they were dissolvable," she answered.

"What?" he raised both eyebrows. "You did?"

"Yeah, right after I gave you your prescription. They'll go away over time," she explained.

"Oh," he quietly said. Sumia was right.

The doctor and police officer awkwardly stood in the middle of the hall for a couple more moments.

"Well, if you don't have any—," Robin started to turn around to continue on her way.

"They're really umm… itchy. I think they're infected," Chrom blurted out a lie. "Can you take a look?"

Robin pulled out her phone and checked the time. She stalled for a couple seconds before answering his question. "Yeah, sure."

* * *

Chrom watched Robin pull on latex gloves as he sat on the examination bed. The paper covering it crinkled and wrinkled every time he moved.

"Okay, take your pants off," Robin stood in front of him.

"Huh?" Chrom demanded with surprise.

"Your pants," Robin pointed to his pants. "You have stitches on your thigh and your lower abdomen. If I remember correctly."

"Right," Chrom was slow to register. He slid off the examination bed and began to unbutton his pants. Then stopped. Robin had his eyes fixed on him. "Can you turn around?" he requested uncomfortably.

"I see naked people all the time, Officer," Robin maintained a schooled neutral expression. Chrom stared back at her, not moving an inch. Robin turned around, while suppressing a sigh. "You know I'm going to see you without your pants on anyway, right?" There was no response. Then, Robin heard the crinkling of the paper covering the examination bed again. "Ready, Officer Exalt?"

"Yeah," Chrom momentarily regretted his decision to bother the young doctor.

Robin walked up to him and took a look at his stitches. "It's healing up fine. Itching is normal, it's part of the healing process. There should be minimal scarring."

"Mmhmm," Chrom avoided eye contact. He didn't think he'd have to pay sitting in an examination room in his underwear to spend a couple more minutes with Robin.

"Can you lift your shirt up?" Robin ordered in a soft voice. Chrom did as he was told. "It looks good. But I can trim the stitches a little, if you want. Maybe that'll help with the itching?"

"Mmhmm," he nodded.

Robin grabbed a small pair of medical scissors and snipped the ends of the sutures. "Can you lie down, I don't want to cut you when I trim the stitches on your abdomen."

"Mmhmm," he did as he was told. Chrom's abs tensed at her touch and heard Robin titter. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Robin smiled and shook her head. "All done." She stepped back and pulled off her gloves and dropped them in the trash can.

"Thanks, Dr. Grima," he sat up and slipped on his pants.

"No problem," Robin brushed it off. A vibrating sound made the both of them reach for their phones. "Oh, it's mine. Hello?" she answered her phone. "Sorry, I'm still at the hospital. Are you still at front? Yeah, I'll be out soon. I hope you didn't wait too long. Yeah, I did finish a while ago. Umm…I just got caught up with a…" Robin paused and glanced at Chrom, "patient. Okay. Bye."

"Did I stop you on your way out?" asked Chrom guiltily while slipping on his shoes.

"Don't worry about it," Robin opened the door. "Okay, well if you need anything else, feel free to ask any one of the nurses or doctors. I need to head out. Someone's waiting for me."

"Thanks again, Dr. Grima," Chrom gave a small wave.

Robin brusquely scurried out of the room. Chrom followed behind her. Little did the two realize, they were headed the same direction.

"Hey, again," Chrom greeted Robin at her side.

Robin forced a smile, "Hi."

"So, it's almost Friday, huh?" Chrom tried to make small talk.

"Yeah, two more days," Robin gave him a strained smile.

"Did you have a long shift?" he tried again.

"I guess," Robin checked her phone.

Then he remembered Lissa mentioning that whenever she tried to make conversation with either the parents or the little elementary school students, she only asked open-ended questions. Not yes or no questions. The entrance of Ylisstol General Hospital was coming up. Fast. He had to think up a question right now if he wanted to keep her around a couple more seconds.

"So, uh, what do you like to do during your free time?" This was his last shot at a conversation.

Robin halted. "Okay, what is it that you want, Officer?"

"Huh?" He wasn't expecting that. Then again, he didn't know what to expect. "I, uh—."

"Are you trying to interrogate me?" Robin asked bluntly.

"No," Chrom shook his head. "I'm trying to make conversation as Chrom, not Officer Exalt."

Robin eyed him suspiciously.

"Is there a problem, Officer?" Lon'qu appeared by Robin's side.

"It's fine, Lon'qu," Robin still kept her eyes on him. "Sorry, I kept you waiting."

She had such an intense look in her eyes. It was new to him, but not in a bad way. Most of his female coworkers were usually friendly and had sweet smiles decorating their faces. But not Robin Grima. She scowled at him when he was on her bad side and occasionally rewarded him with a genuine smile when she was trying to be nice or when she was proud of her medical handiwork.

"Have a nice day, Chrom." And with that, she left with Lon'qu.

She called him Chrom rather than his formal title. He fist pumped the air. Then, it dawned on him that it was a very Vaike thing to do. Dammit. Frederick needed to stop pairing Vaike and him together for assignments so frequently.

He also exited the hospital and saw Robin and Lon'qu get in the car across the street. Suddenly, it hit him that Robin was unavailable. He didn't think he could compete with a foreign boyfriend. Especially after the spiel Cordelia gave him on how foreign men were 'in'. Something about the accent and being refined?

That's okay, he told himself. He just wanted to be friends anyway. Yeah. Friends. Her boyfriend couldn't protest if they were just _friends_. Chrom simply found Robin really interesting and wanted to get to know her better. As a friend.

Chrom wore a silly grin on his face on the way to his car. He thought it went well. He went over each moment with her and gradually, his smile fell. It didn't actually go that well. He was awkward. Awkward wasn't even enough to describe how their interaction went. Gods, it had been a while since he did this. The last time he recalled trying to hook up with a girl was when he was in his second year in Police Academy at a party. (Not that he was trying to 'hook' up with Robin, of course.) That was years ago. Maybe he'd ask Vaike for advice. He was always boasting about how he hooked up with women all the time. Wait. Stop. What was he thinking?

Never.

Robin wasn't that kind of girl.

* * *

"Of course I'll help you, bro!" Vaike slung an arm around Chrom's shoulder. The faint smell of gunpowder lingered in the air. The lights were slightly dimmed, but bright enough to see the targets at the end of range.

Chrom had caved. Gods, what had he done?

"We'll hit the Reeking Box after work, how's that sound? There should be lots of pretty girls, since it is Friday," Vaike beamed and gave a thumbs up.

What had he done? He had obviously lost his mind.

"But we still have a lot of work to do on this case," Chrom began to pull back.

"Dude, remember how the Chief said we need to learn to take breaks?" Vaike reminded

Frederick did say that those exact words. Except, it was more directed at Chrom than Vaike.

"Yeah," Chrom agreed hesitantly.

"This is our break. We're gonna go out and find you some ladies," Vaike grinned.

"Sure," Chrom weakly gave in. He was immediately regretting his decision on asking Vaike for tips on courting the opposite sex.

"Whoever loses this round buys drinks all night," Vaike smirked.

"You're on," Chrom accepted his challenge. At least he'd get free drinks if he scored more points.

The two young men placed their earmuffs back in position and aimed their guns at the target at the end of the range.

* * *

Robin stood in front of the nurse station filling out the last couple pages of paperwork. She stopped for a moment and flexed her hand for a moment. Unfortunately, it didn't alleviate the cramping in her hand. There was just too much cursed paperwork.

"Dr. Grima," greeted a pretty doctor with ice blue hair in a braided up-do. Robin tore her eyes away from her paperwork and greeted Phila Lance, her psychiatrist friend.

"Dr. Lance," Robin acknowledged and went back to scribbling away. When was the hospital going to switch to being completely electronic?

"We're going to the Reeking Box tonight, we'd love for you to join us," Phila extended an invitation. She had particularly mischievous look in her eyes.

"You're not going to take a 'no' for an answer, are you?" Robin grimaced, putting the pen down.

Phila grinned at her, "That's why she sent me."

"I figured," Robin chuckled.

"Come on, you never come out to our outings," Phila nudged Robin.

"Yes I have," Robin denied.

"When?" Phila raised an eyebrow.

Robin opened her mouth to give her an example and then realized she didn't have one.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Phila smirked. "You're going out with us. Doll yourself up and I'm going to come pick you up so that you can't escape. We'll have some shots, dance, and let loose." Robin's lips parted to give an excuse but was silenced by Phila. "No. No excuses."

"But," Robin tried to weasel her way out but was shut down by Phila again.

"No, buts! Go home and get ready," Phila ordered.

"Fine," Robin handed her patient chart to the nurse sitting at the desk and left. How bad could it be? One night with her friends.

"It's a good thing that you gave in! Because I had a lot of threats up my sleeve to persuade you otherwise," Phila grinned.

"You wouldn't," Robin feigned offense.

"Oh, I would," Phila laughed. "Come on, Robin. I never saw you go out _once_ when we were in med school. Not once. You didn't even go on a single date. Or was it because of that Paris guy? No, that wasn't his name. Primus? For some reason, I want to call him 'Penis'. The first and last time I met him was when I was really drunk and you were taking me home."

"Priam," Robin corrected. "And he pretty much is a penis. He's a dick. I probably called him 'Penis' at one point. That's probably why you want to call him 'Penis'." The nurse in front of her gave her a look. Robin ignored him.

"Yeah, him." Phila and Robin began to head downstairs since their shifts had finished.

"No, I just had other priorities and I saw dating and going out as luxuries," Robin shrugged.

"Why did you guys live together again?" Phila asked.

"He's my extended cousin," Robin answered. "He needed someone to watch him. He's utterly inept when it comes to life skills. I think there was something wrong with his head." It was mostly true, Robin justified in her mind.

"On which side was it?" Phila continued with the questions.

Robin went quiet for a moment, trying to remember the answer she had given Phila years ago. "Mother's side," she decided.

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure you said he was from your father's side when I asked you last," Phila had a certain glint in her eye.

Shit. Robin fell into Phila's trap. She was known to do that. Phila had an absolutely brilliant memory and often it was only affected when she was inebriated (which explained why she couldn't remember Priam's name). Other than that, she was always spot on. Honestly, Phila would've done well in any profession, especially in jobs that involved interrogation.

"You must've misheard," Robin quickly tried to cover up her mistake. "So, umm, how are you and Raimi?"

Phila eyed Robin suspiciously but then let it go. It wasn't like this was the first secret Robin tried to keep from her and all her other friends.

"She's off in Chon'sin reporting on a criminal thing that's going on. According to her, the public isn't aware of it yet, so of course, she has to go and investigate to share transparent news with the world. Other than that, she wouldn't say much about it," Phila answered.

"I like her," Robin commented. "I like her better than the last guy you were seeing. You two work. I think it's because you guys understand that your jobs are going to be demanding and you guys respect that."

"Yeah, she's pretty awesome," Phila smiled to herself. "You need to find yourself a partner like that. Anyway, you go home and get ready. Got it? I'm so excited to just let loose!" she squealed and ran off.

"Yeah," Robin waved good-bye. This was going to be interesting, especially since Phila _really_ let loose when going out.

Robin was going out tonight and she had an uneasy feeling about this.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

I hope you guys are excited for the next chapter! I have already written it and currently editing it. It ended up being around seventeen pages on my word doc. So why not post it now? Well, I try to always have at least one complete chapter in between posts, so that if I do get writer's block, I'll still have chapters to post. It drove me mad when I was reading an amazing fanfic and then the author hadn't posted in months. I just died. SO I'M DOING IT FOR ALL OF US, GUYS. For the readers, you guys don't get a dry spell. For the writer (me, musicribbons), I have my ass covered. Yeah. (On another note...I should seriously make a post on my other fanfic...I'm terrible. But I'm having wayyy too much fun with 'Pursuit'.)

Let me know what you thought of the latest chapter! I'd love to hear your input and criticisms.


	6. The Reeking Box

**Chapter 6 - The Reeking Box**

Lon'qu entered the condo to find it in an utter mess. There were different articles of clothing strewn across the floor, making a spotty mosaic. Shoes separated from their partners were thrown aside in the periphery. His eyes darted about the open space with one only one thought: someone had broken in. Then he saw her. Sprawled out on the floor with her back turned to him. His stomach sunk at the sight of her. It was far too familiar.

 _Her head was resting in a pool of blood. Around her petite body was shattered glass. The pieces winked at him innocuously whilst failing to mask their killing edge. The sunlight that cast a halo over her body gave her limp body a celestial glow. Like she was no longer part of the physical world._

He immediately dashed to her side and fell to his knees. Both hands hovered over Robin, not sure if she was dead or hurt. He was afraid that if he touched her, it would confirm his worst fears. His breath caught in his throat in relief when Robin abruptly sat up, still not aware of his presence. He sank down to the floor.

"What in the world are you doing, woman?" he barked, letting his temper get the better of him.

Robin jumped. She turned around to face Lon'qu. "What the hell, Lon'qu! You scared the living shit out of me!"

"What are you doing just lying on the floor?" Lon'qu yelled.

Robin turned around to face him and crossed her legs. She slouched. "No need to get angry at me for lying on the floor. I mean, it is our home."

 _Our home_.

Why did she do this? Include him in her life like he was important to her? He was just a glorified bodyguard.

"Why is it a mess?" Lon'qu shot her a disapproving look. "Didn't the housekeeper come to clean earlier today?"

Robin's face crumpled. "I can't find anything to wear."

"You what?" Lon'qu growled at her. Was that the sole reason for this? For this mess? For his stomach almost dropping out his ass?

"I'm being forced to go out today," she groaned. "I thought it would be easy putting an outfit together. Apparently not. Aversa would've known what to wear."

Lon'qu saw that Robin's mess began to creep from her bedroom and exploded into, well, the rest of the place, like a multi-coloured firework frozen in time. He exasperatedly sighed and rubbed his temples. Why this woman? Wordlessly, he stood up.

"Have you eaten?" Robin asked, following his example. She began to pick up the clothes she had tried to coordinate. It was usually the first question she asked him. He never understood why until he learned that when Robin was a child, Plegia was going through a severe economic depression and it was courteous to ask if someone had eaten yet. Back then, food was scarce and food stamps, the norm. Plegia now enjoyed economic prosperity thanks to her father.

"No," he answered while heading to the kitchen for a glass a water.

"I made some of that spicy Feroxi soup that you like. It should be in the fridge," Robin compacted her mess by dumping it all onto the couch.

Despite being someone who supposedly got admitted into the best medical school in the country, sometimes her logic stumped him. How did condensing all her mess onto the couch make this better? "You didn't have to," Lon'qu gruffed, slowly gaining his composure again. She was alright. She was okay.

"Well, I did. So, just say 'thank-you'," Robin smiled at him.

"Thank you," Lon'qu obliged.

"How was your day?" Robin asked. She had begun to match the assortment of shoes that were lying around.

"Fine," he answered while taking the pot out of the fridge. "Where are you going?"

"The Reeking Box?" Robin's tone went up at the end, sounding like she was unsure herself. "You know it?"

"It's the club off main," Lon'qu commented.

"Phila and my friends are forcing me to go out. She's going to be picking me up in an hour or so. It's gonna be an interesting night. Phila goes crazy when she lets loose…can't blame her though, since she's around mentally unstable people almost every day as a psychiatrist," said Robin. "I think I'll give Aversa a call. She usually knows what to do for fashion and all that girly stuff I fail at." Robin disappeared from his sight again.

He microwaved a bowl of the spicy Feroxi soup for himself and heard Robin talking out loud. "Hey, Avie! Good, you? Mmhmm. Yeah. Well, I need your help. No, it's not about boys. Stop asking me that question!" Robin lowered her voice and whispered, "No, Lon'qu and I haven't _done_ it yet. What's wrong with you? Stop asking such dirty question. Is this payback for being curt with you at the hospital last time? No, it was a _patient_. No, I don't need to get laid. STAAAHP, Avie."

Robin's bedroom door clicked shut.

Did he hear that right?

* * *

Robin tugged at the hem of the short tight-fitting red dress. She awkwardly leaned to one side, desperately trying to find at least one comfortable angle in the dress. Aversa finally got the satisfaction of getting Robin to wear some of the things she sent in her care packages.

Aversa usually called them 'fun/surprise packages'. One time, one of Aversa's fun packages arrived vibrating. Robin felt incredibly embarrassed on Lon'qu's behalf since he had to sign the package off from the delivery man. The delivery man just wiggled his eyebrows at Lon'qu and left, but not before saying one word: 'enjoy'. Lon'qu refused to talk about what had happened that day when Robin got back from work. Robin never figured out if he was giving her the silent treatment or was trying to get over the initial shock of Aversa sending Robin three different types of vibrators. (He had to open the box and make sure it wasn't a bomb…and turn off the damned thing.)

At that very moment, Robin's chest felt uncomfortable, because they were shoved up so high in an awful chest contraption called the 'push-up bra'. It didn't help that the dress was a low cut strapless. She was worried she was going to pop out if she breathed normally. Her feet ached already in the dazzling gold high heels. On top of it all, she had a desperate need to tie all her hair up. But after a good ten minutes of negotiating with Aversa, they settled for a half up-do.

Make-up was a nightmare. She just kept drawing the eyeliner thicker and thicker. Aversa would then school her for it during their video call, demanding _why_ she kept drawing it thicker if it didn't look good the first time. Robin would then argue that it made sense because she was trying to even them out. Aversa merely muttered, "Typical eyeliner logic." Then, they started all over again after Robin literally two black eyes. Eventually, Robin and Aversa succeeded in accomplishing the impossible smoky eye look. It was harder to apply makeup on herself than perform surgery. That eyelash guillotine never got any less terrifying than it was in high school.

"How do I look?" Robin wobbled out on her heels to the couch where Lon'qu was typing away on his laptop with his glasses resting on his nose. Beside him were two neatly folded towers of clothes: the clothes she had unceremoniously dumped earlier.

Lon'qu looked up from his laptop to see a pair of glittering gold heels. He removed his glasses and his eyes followed up the pair of legs and found Robin in a red strapless dress. It accentuated her figure, but in a classy way. Some of her long dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, while some of it was pinned up.

"Is it that bad?" Robin shifted on the spot uncomfortable in Lon'qu's gaze. "I told her red was too flashy. But she kept telling me it makes you more attractive. Red dress effect? I think that's what she said."

His mouth went dry. His Adam's apple bobbed. Lon'qu's kept wordlessly staring. Her eyes sparkled every time she blinked shyly, avoiding eye contact.

"If it looks bad, just say so. I don't feel like myself at all," she muttered.

"You look nice," he finally managed.

"Really? I don't look like a prostitute?" Robin asked sincerely.

"No," he answered flatly.

"Oh thank goodness," Robin sighed in relief. Before the two could exchange another word, Robin's phone went off. She pulled it out of the small clutch in her hand. "Phila's here."

"Be careful," Lon'qu called out as he listened to Robin's clumsy steps heading towards the door.

"Will do. I promise not to get kidnapped!" she joked. "Fuck. I'm going to break both ankles tonight. By the way, we're all crashing at Phila's tonight! I might not come home!"

"Call me if you need a ride," Lon'qu folded his glasses and tucked them away in their case. Robin rivalled the steps of that of a newborn foal.

"Okay, Mom," Robin laughed and the door closed behind her.

He let out the breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. Was it this hot in the apartment when he first got home? Maybe it was the spicy soup he had an hour ago. He placed the laptop on the coffee table and stood up. Fresh air. Yes, that's what he needed. To the balcony.

* * *

Phila screeched from the driver's seat. "You look smokin', Robin! If I weren't already head over heels in love with Raimi, I'd totally hook up with you. For a night. I don't think we'd make a great couple. No offense."

"Thanks," Robin dryly remarked. "You know, you could've just stopped at 'you look smoking'."

"Wow, so you do own something other than scrubs," Maribelle peeked back at her from the front passenger seat. "I didn't even know you knew what lip gloss was, let alone how to use an eyelash curler."

"Gods, don't even start with the makeup. How do you guys do this every morning?" Robin rolled her eyes.

"I wake up looking like this," Maribelle flipped her luscious blonde locks.

Phila snorted. Maribelle shot her a nasty glare. "Are those real?" Phila shifted her rear view mirror.

"Phila, stop it!" Robin crossed her arms over her breasts. "My sister said she wouldn't help me all the way unless I wore the push up bra she sent. I think there's actually more padding than I actually have boob," Robin admitted.

"Thank you, Robin's sister!" Phila grinned happily. "She always did get her way with you when fashion was involved. I still remember the outfit you wore on graduation. All eyes were on you at the after-party."

"Yeah," Robin stared out the window.

"Oh, but I mean, she only wore sweats all throughout med school," Maribelle scoffed. "How could anyone look away? We were all so fascinated by the transformation."

"I think it's also because her sister's Plegia's top model. Of course, she would have stellar fashion taste," Phila praised. "When she comes to visit, you _have_ to let me go shopping with her. I'm dying to meet her."

"Is anyone else's thong riding up their butt?" Robin cringed and shifted in her seat, quickly changing the topic.

"Yup," Phila beamed.

"Same," Maribelle said plainly.

"And you guys are okay with this?" Robin was astounded.

"It's supposed to do that," Phila remarked. "If you don't feel uncomfortable, then you're obviously A: not going clubbing and B: not clubbing."

"Preach," Maribelle giggled.

"Gods. I don't think I've missed anything from skipping all the outings then," Robin grumbled.

"I'm so excited for us to all go out!" Phila sing-sung. She heard Robin groan and mutter something about how she couldn't feel her feet. Phila ignored her friend in the backseat. "Okay, so we're going to park my car at my place and then walk to the Reeking Box."

"Thank Naga it's warm tonight," Maribelle checked her lipstick for the umpteenth time.

"I don't think I can walk in these shoes. Can you guys just drop me off at home? Just leave me behind," Robin pleaded.

"No. We're finding you a mate tonight. You put in so much effort," Phila denied the request.

"I can't believe you just used that word," Robin replied flatly. "I don't need a _mate_."

"But you do! I have Raimi," Phila began to ramble. "Maribelle is seeing that sweetheart, Stahl."

"No! The super chill pharmacist across from the hospital?" gasped Robin. "You didn't tell me this!" she punched Maribelle in the arm.

"Yup!" Phila giggled.

"Ow, Robin!" Maribelle hissed, vigorously rubbing her arm. "We just went on a couple dates," she shrugged it off like it was nothing, but the smile on her face said otherwise.

"That's why you were whining about being ugly on our night shift," Robin scoffed.

Phila pulled into her apartment parking lot and sharply turned into her slot. During her violent parking, Robin smacked her head on the window.

"Gods, Phila! Your driving is worse than mine," Robin rubbed her head.

"That's why you hold onto the 'Oh Shit' handle," Maribelle calmly advised with her right hand furiously clutching the handle near the roof of the car. Her knuckles were ghost white.

"Ha ha. I'm not the one who gets caught by that one police officer every time when I speed. Wait, did you purposely get those tickets so you could talk to that police officer? Is he hot?" Phila turned off the ignition.

"Phila, I think you're onto something," Maribelle agreed. The two women in the front suddenly turned around simultaneously and set their eyes on Robin.

Robin stared back at her friends. "You two are crazy. And I'm not into cops. Why would I get my license suspended to flirt?" Robin narrowed her eyes.

"Eh, I've done worse," Maribelle shrugged.

"You what?" Phila turned to Maribelle.

"I've said too much," Maribelle studied her nails momentarily and then stepped out of the car.

"You have to tell now," Phila determinedly left the car to hunt down Maribelle. "Hurry up, Robin!"

"Coming," Robin sighed and stepped out into the cool evening air.

"The other ladies should be joining us there," Phila reported from the text she just received.

The music was blaring and the bass resonated through the sweaty bodies grinding against each other. The scene was hazy and there were colourful lights being flashed proudly in the popular establishment. The bar was full of eager patrons waiting to forget their weeks and party. The bartenders charmed them with cheeky smiles and mixing finesse.

"How many shots did she have?" Maribelle yelled at Phila.

"I think we gave her three Awakening shots," Phila hollered back to Maribelle who brought her ear closer.

"Is that _normal_?" Maribelle pointed discretely at Robin in the distance.

Phila watched Robin for a couple more seconds. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. Then she opened it again and admitted honestly, "I have no idea."

"What exactly is she doing?" Maribelle watched Robin in genuine concern. "Is she having a seizure standing up because of the strobe lights?"

"I…I don't know how to answer that," Phila said loudly over the music. "I think seizures are less violent than what she's doing…"

They sat at their table, continuing to watch Robin dance by herself. Everyone around her had steered clear of her, because they probably feared for their safety. Robin didn't seem to care nor notice.

They had never seen a worse dancer. The only way they could describe it was that Robin looked like she was pulling clothes out of a laundry basket and throwing it over her shoulder. She even did the finger movements and bending down to the phantom laundry basket in her dance move. Then occasionally, she'd do a shimmy that made her look like she was covered in Plegian scorpions and she was desperately trying to shake them off. Apparently, they were on her face too.

Maribelle sipped her peach margarita and tried to decide what to do with her friend. Phila also brought her tropical sangria up to her lip and took a long drink. They watched Robin now, literally, whip her hair around. She wacked a bystander in the face, causing him to stumble back and fall backwards. She failed to take notice because once she stopped whipping her hair, she was too busy trying to regain her balance. She stumbled about on the dance floor.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that. At all," Phila glanced over to Maribelle.

"Same," Maribelle agreed.

"Do you think this is her getting back at us for making her come out with us?" Phila asked.

"I don't think she's that evil," Maribelle grimaced, "But remember that one time she punched that abusive boyfriend in the face in front of the police when he came in the ER to see his unconscious girlfriend?"

"Yeah, that's not evil. The police officer gave her a high-five. The asshole deserved it," Phila shook her head.

"True," Maribelle nodded slowly.

"Well, with those dance moves, I think she's doing a fine job keeping mates away. Just like she wanted," Phila sighed.

"Oh Gods, she's doing the 'Wyvern Wave'," Maribelle buried her face into her hands.

Phila lost it and began to hysterically laugh when she saw Robin bob her head and flap her arms dramatically in slow motion.

"That wasn't even popular when my parents were young!" Phila roared with laughter. They watched Robin stop and come towards their circular booth.

"You guys are having a fun time," Robin walked up to them.

"Was that a joke or were you seriously dancing for real?" Phila asked while wiping a tear.

"Huh?" Robin cocked her head to the side.

"Robin, I don't know how to say this without hurting your feelings—," Phila began.

"You're a terrible dancer," Maribelle bluntly cut in. There was no way to soften to blow for this one.

"What?" Robin gave them a confused look.

"You're really awful at clubbing," Phila failed to suppress a laugh.

"But I was told that those dance moves were hot and hip!" Robin shouted and then stopped herself. Then, a darkness clouded her glowing expression. "Fuck! I'm going to _kill_ Priam when I see that dastard! I can't believe he lied to me! All these years! That explains why everyone always looked like they were having a great time even when we were all sober and I was the only one dancing!"

"Priam?" Maribelle leaned into Phila for an answer because Robin was raging and at the verge of foaming at the mouth.

"Some extended family member, apparently," Phila air-quoted the words, not believing the words herself.

"Oh," Maribelle nodded.

"Well, hon, you killed all your chances at finding yourself a nice mate. Just like you wanted," Phila slung her arm over Robin who had finally calmed down.

"Guys, I can dance," Robin tried to persuade her friends who had already seen what seemed like her entire dance set.

"Oh, we believe you Robin," Maribelle sucked on her straw.

"Let's get you another drink," Phila gestured for a server to come over. A young woman in the establishment's uniform scurried to their side.

"How can I help you?" she smiled.

"What do you want?" Phila asked.

"Eugh. I'm so embarrassed," Robin muttered.

"Hurry up and order," Phila nudged Robin.

"I'll have a porn star," Robin told the server.

"Yeah, you will," Phila winked.

"Phila, stop," Robin sat down in the circular booth. "Oh, Gods."

"Yeah," Maribelle agreed.

"I know how to dance," Robin repeated again. Her eyes screamed desperation—desperation of trying to get her friends to believe her.

"Okay, honey," Phila patted Robin's hand. "You can try again when we're all too drunk to remember anything. The others should be coming soon."

Robin pulled her hand away and was busy searching for a spot to redeem herself. Her eyes scanned the area and then she saw them. Two golden poles near the front of the club. Each pole was on each side of the dance floor, slightly elevated on a circular platform.

"Right there," Robin pointed to one of the platforms. "I know how to dance on those." Maribelle immediately stopped sucking on her straw. Phila choked on her drink. "I'm actually really good, guys. Like _really_ good. If my word isn't enough, I was told by others that I'm good."

"Robin, you know what those are, right? And these people praising your…skills…weren't older men, were they?" Maribelle asked hesitantly, praying to Naga that Robin wasn't as drunk as they thought she was.

"Well, there were some women too," Robin answered. The server brought Robin's porn star over. As Robin reached for her drink, Maribelle snatched it from her. "Hey!" Robin protested.

"Oh, let her go wild," Phila pushed the drink back to Robin. "You've earned it after all those years in Ylisstol Med and YGH." Phila raised her glass to Robin. Robin clinked her glass to Phila and then Maribelle's who had a tight expression.

The two ladies watched Robin chug her drink. "Gods, I'm so thirsty."

"Well, you did pretty much do a one hour cardio-aerobics routine in like, I dunno, twenty minutes," Maribelle shrugged sarcastically. "I'm surprised you don't have a headache from whipping your hair. Robin, you need to pace yourself."

"Okay, guys, that wasn't me _really_ dancing," Robin laughed as she waved a hand in denial. Next time she saw Priam, she was going to strangle him for making her look like a fool. "I'll show you that I can dance."

"I think you should slow down," Maribelle grabbed Robin's wrist before she ran off again. "Sit for a bit."

"Okay, fine," Robin did as she was told. She felt fine, a bit hyper albeit, but fine. "Can I get another drink?"

"Drink some water," Maribelle ordered, but not before glaring at Phila for giving Robin too much to drink. Phila volleyed back with a sly smirk. "Did you eat before coming here? Like carbs?"

"Hmm, I had some soup," Robin answered obediently.

"Naga, the alcohol is going to hit her so hard," Phila giggled, already buzzed herself.

* * *

It was packed. It looked like a fire had been lit in the building because it was so hazy. And loud. Gods, Chrom felt like his eardrums were going to burst any moment. There were hot bodies grinding against one another. On the border of the Reeking Box were circular booths facing the dance floor, filled with young men and women mingling about over drinks.

"Let's have some fun, tonight!" Vaike yelled into Chrom's ear. He was in a really good mood tonight, because for the first time, he had beaten Chrom's score and won the bet at the shooting range. All drinks were going to be on Chrom.

Chrom wanted to leave already. The eyes of scantily clad women were focused on them like hungry cougars licking their lips at bait. They were eating him alive with their eyes.

"They like what they see," Vaike roared with confidence.

"Ah, you're back, Vaike!" greeted a woman, easily in her forties dressed inappropriately for her age.

"Cheryl!" Vaike beamed.

"Welcome back. You brought a new friend tonight," the woman gave Chrom a look up and down.

"He's a colleague of mine. Between you and me, he sees me as a rival," Vaike winked. "This is Chrom."

"Nice to meet you, Chrom," the woman's lips curled up in a seductive manner.

"Hello," Chrom extended a hand. Cheryl delicately shook it.

"Have fun," Cheryl winked and left.

"That was the owner," Vaike told Chrom.

"I see," Chrom nodded as he followed Vaike to the bar.

"Two Awakening shots," Vaike held up two fingers to the bartender.

"Coming right up!" the pretty bartender with the low cut shirt accepted the order.

Within a couple minutes, there were two blue shots with a fire that licked the air placed in front of Chrom and Vaike. "To an exciting night," Vaike raised his shot glass.

He really didn't want to be here. "To an exciting night," Chrom threw his shot back. He grimaced. It'd been a while since he'd done shots.

"Looks like the little sexy lady knows how to pole dance!" the DJ announced into the mike. Chrom and Vaike turned around to face the dance floor.

A girl with long obsidian hair in a red dress had climbed onto the pole dancing platform. She gave a simple, yet graceful spin around the pole. Two other women—one with blond locks in a pink dress and one with icy-blue locks in an emerald dress—gestured for the girl in the red dress to come down.

The DJ whined, "Aww, let her do her thing, guys." The blonde yelled something at him and he responded with, "Someone needs another drink!"

Chrom and Vaike watched blue-haired woman gesture violently to girl on the platform to come down again, but the girl shook her head vigorously. The blonde said something. The girl in the red dress looked around the premises and then immediately climbed down.

"Well, hello there ladies," Vaike flashed his smile at two approaching women.

Chrom watched the scene on the dance floor unfold a little longer. Then he felt a hand sliding up his arm. He retracted his arm and looked to his side. The first thing he saw were breasts. He flushed red and redirected his eyes.

"Hi," the girl breathed into his ear. The girl at his side had a full figure in a dress that, for some odd reasons, had pieces missing out of it. What was the point of a dress with holes? She had the biggest blue eyes he had ever seen that were framed by soft brown bangs.

"Hey," Chrom shifted away from the girl beside him. He glanced over to see Vaike settling right in his niche. He had an arm wrapped around the girl who had already warmed up to him.

"I'm Lorna," she leaned into his ear and whispered the words.

Again, he shimmied away. Chrom asked, "Aren't you cold? You look cold. You might want to cover up a little…around here," he made circular motions in front of his own chest. "You might catch a cold…since you're lungs are…so exposed."

"Bro!" Vaike called out to someone.

"I haven't seen you since last week, Vaike!" the stranger responded.

"You're so cute," Lorna fawned over Chrom and tapped the tip of his nose with her manicured index finger.

Chrom laughed nervously, all the while starting to sweat because of the heat in the club and how uncomfortable he felt. He glanced over to his side for Vaike to ask him to give him a hand, but saw that he was missing. That's what he gets for relying on Vaike. Lorna began to pout childishly at Chrom and whined, "Am I not pretty enough for you?"

"Huh?" Chrom tried to regain composure from Lorna pressing herself on him. "No, you're uh…" Emmeryn and Lissa told him during one of their many infamous conversations on how to treat women is that women want to be told that they're 'beautiful', not 'pretty', and definitely not 'cute'. "…beautiful," he smiled sincerely. "You must also have an equally beautiful heart." He awkwardly patted her on the head.

Lorna's eyes widened at his compliment. Her face burned red and she took a step back, giving him some space to escape. "Lorna, right?" Chrom placed his hands on her shoulders. She nodded with all her previous prowl quickly dissolving away in her stupor. "I need to be somewhere," Chrom excused himself and ran to the Men's washroom.

* * *

Cherche and Miriel finally showed up at the booth Phila and Maribelle had been manning with Robin firmly seated between them so she couldn't escape.

"Guys, seriously, I'm not drunk," Robin said for the millionth time.

"Okay, sweetie, we believe you," Phila nodded.

"You don't believe me," Robin gave Phila a flat look.

"What makes you say that?" Phila had fake concern carefully constructed on her face.

"Because you never talk to me with your 'patient' voice unless you don't believe me OR you're not listening," Robin accused.

"I…what?" Phila's façade of concern crumbled once she understood that Robin knew what she was up to.

"Should we have stayed home?" Cherche shuffled in beside Maribelle.

"I could be at the university doing more research," Miriel shifted her glasses and took a seat on Phila's side.

"No, we haven't had a Girls' Night Out in a while," Phila waved her hand at a server.

"Hey, guys," Robin chirped up.

"How's the new vet clinic doing?" Maribelle asked Cherche.

"Good, it's going really well," Cherche smiled. "Exhausting nonetheless."

"Guys," Robin tried again.

"Did your last study go well?" Phila conversed with Miriel.

"Something about ethics. They wouldn't even let me past the first hoop," Miriel rolled her eyes with tight lips.

"Guys!" Robin yelled. All the girls stopped chatting and stared at Robin. "I'm gonna head home."

"Why?" Phila's mouth literally made a upside down 'U'. "Don't leave!"

"I'm feeling really off," Robin admitted.

"Well, you don't usually drink," Maribelle pointed out, "and you drank really fast."

"Do you have a ride home?" Miriel inquired.

"Yeah, I do, so don't worry about me," Robin smiled. Miriel and Phila shuffled out to let Robin out.

"Do you have to go?" asked Cherche sincerely. "I haven't seen you in so long."

"Yeah, I think I might pass out soon," Robin laughed apologetically and took her phone out of her clutch. All her friends watched her with sad eyes. "Seriously. I'll be fine. Don't give me that look Phila. And no, Maribelle, you can't come. You don't have to babyshit me."

"Did she just say 'babyshit'?" Cherche whispered to Maribelle.

"Yeah, she did," Maribelle confirmed in a hushed voice.

"Okay, text me when you get home," Phila finally gave Robin permission to leave.

"Bye!" Robin waved and headed to the exit.

Okay, she lied a little. Okay, fine, a lot. But her thong was _really_ riding up her ass, and she didn't want to walk around without underwear in case that it could send the wrong message. Her feet were also swelling up faster than a sting from a Plegian wasp, and that was bad. The heat in the club was starting to affect her judgement and she had gotten bored already. On top of all that, there was also this bothersome ringing in her ears.

Wow, she sounded like an old person.

Robin emerged from the depths of the Reeking Box's underbelly. There was still a ridiculously long queue of people waiting to get in to the hottest club in Ylisstol. A cool wind blew on her skin. The sensation of cold was exaggerated against her damp skin. She shivered. In feeble attempts to keep warm, she rubbed her arms. Then, an odd grumbling sound erupted from her stomach.

Food. She was starving. Robin established her next objective: find something greasy to eat.

Robin turned her head left and right before walking across the street. She swore she saw a bar around here. She'd grab something to eat, try to sober up a little, and then call Lon'qu. Robin was told that she tended to get a little touchy when she was under the influence. But then again, that could be Priam trolling her again. She decided to not risk potentially sexually harassing Lon'qu, especially since he was going to be driving. Not to mention, he made a frightened rabbit appear courageous whenever women touched him.

"Found you!" Robin smiled herself silly while standing in an akimbo position in front of a run-down bar with a wooden sign with the words 'The Shepherds' engraved into it. "I'm going to eat everything," she said out loud to herself. It began to dawn on her that she might be a little tipsy, since she rarely talked out loud to herself. Just a little, but she wouldn't admit that she was drunk. Carefully, she climbed the wooden stairs in her heels and swung the door open to grab a bite.

* * *

 _Where are you?_

Chrom sent a text to Vaike. He paced about on the shiny, black tiles. He waited for a couple minutes, occasionally checking his wristwatch. Nothing. Chrom's stomach grumbled in misery, asking him to feed himself: go find sustenance his body told him. He was still hiding in the washroom, waiting for a response. He regretted coming out at all.

 _I'm heading out,_ Chrom typed out on his phone and thought of an excuse. He typed in ' _I think I forgot to put away a file. Don't want the Chief to have a wyvern'_. He wracked his brain for a better excuse, but couldn't think of one. Eh, he'd stick with that one. It wasn't like Chrom hadn't left work socials for that very excuse before. He'd grab a bite and head back to the station. See, not a complete lie. Only half of one.

Chrom inhaled a deep breath and sharply exhaled with a hand firmly wrapped around door handle. He felt the sound waves of the bass vibrate through his body once he stepped out. After weaving through the crowd, he managed to escape the Reeking Box. The fresh air felt so wonderful in his lungs. Chrom slipped off his navy blazer and neatly folded it over his arm. He hadn't been to The Shepherds in a while. He'd go there, maybe have a beer, and go back to investigating on the Grima case.

A perfect Friday night.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

This was dedicated to all the terrible dancers out there. I would've put that at the top, but that would've spoiled the chapter.

I think I proofread it well enough this time...but knowing me, I'll probably find more typos or sentences that make no sense when I go over it again in a couple days. *SIGH*

Thank you for all your support. It means so much to me to share something I have created to be loved by many people.


	7. The Shepherds

**Chapter 7 - The Shepherds**

"Hey there," a man with a scruffy beard leaned against the bar beside Robin.

"Mmm," Robin hummed and sucked on the straw of her cranberry juice. She hadn't bothered to bring the cup up to her face. She simply leaned forward and chased the straw with her tongue until it was in her mouth. It was too much effort to use her hands because her head was spinning. She definitely had too much to drink. What in the Gods' names were in those Awakening shots?

"What's a babe like you doing all by herself?" he persisted.

"Mmmfph," Robin repeated monotonously while waving a hand at him in a shooing motion.

"What's that?" the man leaned in, mistaking her hand gesture as 'come hither'. Robin grabbed his shirt and violently pulled him in close. "Frisky, are we?"

"I. said. Go. Away," Robin enunciated each word. "Before I call the police on you for harassment," she hissed under her breath. The loud buzzing of conversations in The Shepherds made her headache worse. She really didn't have the patience to deal with losers.

"Whatever, bitch," he jerked away and walked off.

Robin rolled her eyes and then, sighed in relief. Finally, peace. Well, whatever was 'peace' in an old bar. She blinked tiredly and stared at her half empty cup. She still hadn't gotten the menu. Every now and then, her foot would slip off the railing she was resting on under the bar and then nearly fall off her stool.

As Robin tried to regain her balance, another suitor sat down beside her. "You must be in the dictionary, because you are the definition of _fine_ ," the man tipped his head back to get a better look at her. He smelled strongly of stale cigarette butts.

"I am," Robin answered without an ounce of emotion. Robin's eyes never left her cranberry juice. Where was that damned menu? That's it, she wasn't tipping. She noticed her implication of over confidence did not discourage nor intimidate the man with the terrible pick-up line. Then, she had an idea. Robin turned to face the man with an evil grin.

"What are you doing tonight?" he perked up at her sudden interest in him.

"I'm naming our future kids," Robin flashed her teeth at him like a Cheshire cat.

"You what?" he jerked back and started to sweat.

"I really like the name 'Morgan' for a son," Robin leaned in to close the gap. "But you can name our daughter. But before we do anything, you need to meet my father and fight him for my hand in marriage." She added in a hushed voice, "The last guy lost his left nut."

"I…uh…gotta go," the man literally flew off of the seat beside her and ran away.

"Don't go! We would make beautiful children!" she whined like a ditzy girl and watch the man scamper out of the bar. She snickered to herself, proud of her work. "Finally," she sighed. "Where is the menu?" she angrily grumbled, giving the bartender another dirty look. Another couple of hungry minutes crawled by painfully. She impatiently chewed on her straw. Menu…food…

"Is this seat taken?" asked a new male voice.

"Is that the best pick-up line you have? Because I swear to the Gods…" Robin whipped her head around. Her words were drowned away into the volume of the bar. The man beside her had dark blue locks coupled with gentle eyes. He possessed a strong jawline, but still had soft, kind features. Above one of his brows were three butterfly stitches, meticulously positioned in place. There was no denying that was her handiwork. She hadn't noticed before, but he was actually quite tall and had built shoulders—perfect for resting her dizzy head on.

"Umm," Chrom wore an expression of discomfort. "Did I do something wr— Oh! Dr. Grima, didn't expect to meet you here. I almost didn't recognize you," realization spread across Chrom's previously confused visage. He still hadn't sat down, waiting for her permission. "You look different, like in a good way," Chrom added, hoping that would nudge her decision.

Robin dumbly blinked at Chrom a little longer. He was the last person she was expecting. "Umm, yeah, go ahead," Robin's eyebrows knitted into themselves. She definitely had too much to drink.

"You sure? Your boyfriend isn't sitting here?" Chrom looked around. "I really should learn his name. I just keep calling him your boyfriend."

"Lon'qu," Robin answered. "I don't understand why you keep calling him my boyfriend. But, go ahead. Sit. I'd rather be bothered by you than the strange men who keep trying to fuck me."

"Thanks, Dr. Grima…Whatever's on tap, thanks," Chrom told the bartender and sat down. "Wait, he's not your boyfriend?"

"I never said he was," Robin mumbled with the straw in her mouth. Then she heard slurping sounds from her cup. Her eyes wandered down and saw that it was empty. "Can I get another one?" she asked lazily. The bartender acknowledged her request with a grunt.

"Then you're here all by yourself?" Chrom frowned in concern.

"I can handle myself," Robin defended herself before the policeman could lecture her.

"Okay," Chrom played along, holding back a smile. It was impossible to miss that the doctor had a couple drinks too many without pulling out the breathalyzer. He watched her shiver and tug at her dress. "Are you cold?"

Robin pouted for a moment and tried to figure out how to answer the question. Does she deny it and let the goosebumps pattern her skin or confess she was, indeed, cold? She shivered involuntarily again. It was obvious. "Yeah, I'm actually kinda chilly," Robin admitted in embarrassment.

"Here," Chrom stood up from his seat and draped his blazer over her bare shoulders. "I took it off a while ago, so it's probably not too warm, but it should do something."

"T-thanks," Robin shyly murmured and pulled it closer to herself.

A part of Chrom was relieved that Robin accepted his blazer because his eyes kept wandering and it was getting rather difficult to maintain strict eye contact. The two received their drinks and they silently kept each other company.

"Why are you here?" Robin finally asked, cocking her head to the side curiously. "Shouldn't you be out chasing some guy who parked on the street at the wrong time?"

Chrom choked on his beer and began to cough. Wow, she really didn't think highly of him.

"I'd pat you on the back, but that makes it worse despite what people believe. It makes the thing you're choking on go down the wrong way faster," Robin remarked unsympathetically. She chased after her straw in her cranberry juice with her tongue again while simply watching the poor police officer struggle to clear his airway.

"I'm not actually," he coughed, "in the traffic," he coughed again, "patrol division."

"Mmhmm," Robin nodded slowly, failing to show a trace of interest.

"I'm actually in the Special Tactics and Investigation Division," Chrom managed to say after finally clearing his throat.

"Oh, and what does that entail?" Robin inquired.

"It's a specialized branch off of the Crime Division, but I can't share more than that without sharing confidential material," Chrom smiled apologetically.

"Yeah, that's fine, Officer." Robin's stomach grumbled again. She searched for a server, but saw that they were all busy. "Do they just hate me because I'm one of the few women in this bar or do they actually have no menus?" she whispered to Chrom.

"The menus right above your head," he pointed up.

Robin lifted her gaze and tipped back a little. Chrom stuck his arm out behind her, nervous that she'd fall backwards. All this time, the menu had been above her head. It was a blackboard with messy chicken scratch advertising what they sold. Why didn't she pick up on that earlier? Oh right, ethanol was in her system.

"They have chicken fingers and fries," Robin gasped excitedly while tugging at his sleeve. Her action caused the ends of his lips to tug as well.

"They're sandwiches are really good too," Chrom commented.

"Wait, why are you here again?" Robin asked.

"Grabbing a drink and food before going back to the headquarters," Chrom gestured for a server to come take their order.

"Right," Robin nodded to herself. She pulled the edges of his blazer closer to herself. "You're a workaholic," she judged.

"What makes you say that? One sec," he responded. The server arrived with paper and pen in hand. "Could we get the chicken fingers and fries and the chicken avocado sandwich?"

"Sauce?" the server asked in a deadpan voice.

"Dr. Grima?" Chrom glanced over at Robin. She had returned to absentmindedly drinking out of her cranberry juice again. "Robin," he nudged her.

"Huh?" she perked up. "Sorry, what?"

"Dipping sauce for your chicken fingers," he repeated. The server glanced over at Robin with an impatient, bored look.

"Plum," she answered.

"Anything else?" the server asked out of courtesy, even though her tone said otherwise.

"That's all, thank you," Chrom dismissed her. "Dr. Grima, how much exactly did you have to drink?"

"Robin," she corrected. "I'm not your doctor and we're not in the hospital. It makes me feel weird when I'm called that out in public."

"Robin, how much exactly did you have to drink?" Chrom tried again.

"Are you going to arrest me for being a public menace? I only scared two guys away. I could probably walk in a straight line." Robin rested her elbows on the bar table and eyed him with a slight pout. "If I tried really hard," she smiled.

"No," he laughed.

"I think I had three Awakening shots and a porn star," she nodded to herself as she counted them off on her fingers.

"A what?" asked Chrom.

"A porn star," she said louder. "They're _really_ good. You should try them some time, when you have free time. They really hit the right spot."

"Right," he nodded quietly as he shifted uncomfortably.

"What were we talking about? Besides porn stars," Robin buried her face into her hands. "Oh right!" she sat up. "You being a workaholic."

"On what premise," Chrom crossed his arms.

"Right there," Robin pointed at him.

"What?" Chrom protested.

"You're crossing your arms. Body language: defensive," Robin drew circles with her finger around his upper body. "So I know I'm on the right track."

"Okay, but that doesn't mean anything," Chrom uncrossed his arms.

"And!" Robin continued to prove her case. "You're going back to work on a Friday. At…" Robin checked her phone. "Well, past midnight. Who does that besides a workaholic?"

"You," Chrom sassed her back. "And technically, it's Saturday now."

"I…" Robin frowned for a moment, trying to determine if there was truth to that.

"You were on a night shift when you stitched me up," Chrom helped her. "Maribelle told me that you took someone's shift for them so they could enjoy their anniversary with their partner even though you finished your required number of night shifts."

"Oh, hmm," Robin accepted his answer. "I guess we're both alcoholics."

"You meant, 'workaholics', right?" Chrom offered.

"I said that," Robin rebutted.

"Well, now that we've established that. I think you have a problem with authority," said Chrom.

"What? Me? Pfft, no," Robin flicked her wrist.

"You _ran_ ," Chrom began to present his evidence.

"Officer, you were _chasing_ me," Robin rolled her eyes. "It's a natural reaction."

"Not really, Robin, especially if it's a police officer, unless you've done something wrong," he responded. "Then you yelled at me when I tried to fine you. And you thought I was interrogating you when I was trying to just make small talk."

Robin's lips tightened into a thin line. Then she relaxed, "Okay, fine. I do have a problem with the authorities. Especially cops."

"Right," Chrom grinned.

"But you're really bad at making conversations and you're not very intimidating," Robin added at the end. She was going to have the last word in this conversation whether she was drunk or sober.

Chrom opened his mouth to give her a counterargument, but she had him defeated. His last attempt at trying to just talk to her resulted in him taking his pants off. Robin smiled coyly at him and giggled at him. Her eyes softened and twinkled, her cheeks tinged with a rosy glow, and she possessed a gently curved pair of pink lips. His heart stopped and air escaped his lungs.

"Food!" she excitedly announced when the server dropped off their orders, not noticing the effect she had on Chrom moments ago. She tugged at his sleeve excitedly like a child again.

Chrom cleared his throat and weakly responded with, "Yeah." He watched Robin dig in and close her eyes and give the happiest expression he had ever seen on her face.

"Gods, I was starving," Robin sighed contently. She tried to take another bite of her chicken finger but some strands of her hair stuck to the plum sauce. "Eugh, hair in way," Robin threw her hair back. She pulled out the elastic that was holding some of her hair up. Her long hair came down like a waterfall. Following it, came a waft of an intoxicating citrus burst. Swiftly, she pulled it up into a messy bun and went back to eating. "Finally," she muttered. "I hate it when hair gets in the way."

"Y-yeah, I know," Chrom stuttered, trying to regain his composure. He imagined what it would be like to run his fingers through her hair.

"Mmm," Robin shoved more fries into her mouth. "Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face? Is my makeup melting off my face?"

"It's nothing," Chrom shook his head and took a long swig of his beer. She looked different than usual. Robin was sultry. The red dress on her showed him that she could look stunning in both formal and casual wear. He was also incredibly intrigued that Robin didn't care about what she ate, seeing how she was literally stuffing her face with bar food. Robin was effortlessly alluring.

"Okay," Robin gave him a look and returned to eating.

What if this was the last time he saw her? For real? He didn't want that. He wanted to see her again and again and again. She was so fascinating. Chrom had no idea of what he expected to get from this, but he wanted her to stay close to him.

"Hey, Robin," Chrom asked for her to turn her attention away from her delicious food just for a moment.

"Mmm?" she responded while chewing. Her curious eyes were fixed on him, waiting. He lost his words in her gaze. It felt like he was staring into a maze when he looked into her eyes.

"Umm…can you just call me Chrom?" he requested. That wasn't the question he had originally thought of. Then again, he had forgotten what he had originally wanted to ask. "It's only fair since I'm not calling you by your formal title," he added with a poor attempt at nonchalance in his tone.

"Mmmph," she shrugged. Robin swallowed and drank her juice. "Yeah, sure."

"Great," he smiled and took a bite of his sandwich, feeling slightly unsatisfied.

After a couple moments of eating, the two faced each other to converse again. Robin tapped to the side of her lip at him.

"Hmm?" he raised his eyebrows. Robin repeated the gesture while chewing her food. "I have no idea what you're trying to say."

Then she reached over and wiped the side of his lip with her thumb and placed it between her pink lips. When the pad of her thumb left her lips, it made a smooching sound. "You're good, now," Robin went back to picking at her food voraciously, like nothing had happened, leaving the poor victim paralyzed.

Chrom's face made a tomato look pale in comparison. He stopped breathing.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked with a mouthful of food. "Oh, I know. You're one of those people where their faces go red when you drink, right?"

Chrom cleared his throat, "Y-yeah." That was a lie. He hadn't even actually computed what she had said to him.

"Oh! Come closer for a sec," Robin waved her hand towards herself.

"Why?" he sat still, not knowing how else to respond.

"Just humour me, will you?" Robin pleaded in an exasperated tone. Turned out Chrom was too slow because Robin leaned in with her heels wedged into the foot rests of the stool and precariously balanced off her seat. She placed a hand on his thigh for balance as she invaded his personal space. She brought up her free hand and brushed his bangs aside. Then, she slipped the tip of her finger nail under one of the butterfly stitches and peeled it off. He felt his skin tug as she pulled the adhesive off, making him wince. She repeated this gesture twice more. He could smell the alcohol on her mixed with an intoxicating perfume.

"Done," Robin breathed. Their eyes met only being a mere couple inches apart. When he wasn't being annoying, Chrom was actually a handsome man. He owned a boyish charm to him despite how straight-laced he was.

Robin soon realized her proximity to the young officer. The spinning in her head that had settled down with all the cranberry juice and food manifested again as a new tidal wave of dizziness. In her minute fleeting moment of drunken lucidity, she gasped, "Ah!" and her hand slipped off his thigh. Flailing, she hit the ground with her shoes and feet trapped and tangled with the foot rest of the bar stool.

It took Chrom a couple more seconds to collect himself because he was certain that he was having a heart attack. It was the only reason that could explain his pounding heart. Immediately after, he looked down at Robin who was struggling to get up. He slipped off his bar stool and extended a hand. Robin, who now had finally escaped the clutches of the stool, glanced at his hand. Hesitantly, she reached out for his hand. His grip was firm and strong. Then, he pulled her up, slowly nonetheless, so she could regain balance on her ridiculous heels. Once she was upright, all she could see was his handsome face: gentle, yet serious, currently affected with concern. She cleared her throat and was the first to break eye contact. Robin tugged the ends of his blazer closer to herself, in subconscious attempts to hide.

"Get a room!" a rude stranger fox-whistled at them. Normally, Robin would've responded by cursing at them and shoot lasers from her eyes, but at that moment, she couldn't get her thoughts straight. Chrom was flustered as well and couldn't form a string of coherent words.

"Well, now you won't have to get yelled at by Carol to get those removed. Well, you could've done it yourself, I guess," she joked nervously and tried to laugh but it ended up sounding like a dry cough.

It was the alcohol, she decided. There was no way she would be attracted to an idiot like him.

"I don't usually drink," she laughed apologetically. "I like to be aware of my surroundings and always be ready to address emergencies." The two sat back down again. A heavy cloud of awkwardness floated between them. "Thanks," she murmured, breaking the ice.

"No problem," he scratched the back of his head, all the while avoiding her gaze. "I'm the same."

"Huh?"

"I don't usually drink either. A police officer's duty is never over," he shrugged.

"Right," she nodded slowly.

"Could we get the bill?" they both requested in unison.

"It's been a long night, I should go home," Robin explained quietly.

"Yeah, I need to uh…get some rest too," Chrom agreed.

Robin pulled out her phone and texted Lon'qu. _I'm at The Shepherds across from the Reeking Box. Come pick me up? Thanks, Mom :P_

 _Be there in fifteen._

Damn it. That was a long time. Fifteen minutes with Chrom, the stalker police officer, who had evidently threw her off her game.

"Do you need me to drive you home?" Chrom asked politely.

"Officer, you've been drinking," Robin pointed out. "Don't think Officer Knight would appreciate you drunk driving."

"Oh, right," Chrom chuckled in embarrassment.

The server cut in between them and placed two bills facing down and left.

"Do you need me to call you a cab?" Chrom asked as Robin gave the server a dirty look. She was rude all night! She wasn't tipping. "Robin?"

"Hmm?" Robin brought her attention back to the man in front of her. "It's fine. Lon'qu's picking me up."

"That's good," Chrom nodded. "Wait, at this time of the night?"

"Yeah," Robin confirmed nonchalantly.

"Either he's a really good friend or you guys have something," Chrom tried to pick apart who exactly Lon'qu was.

Robin frowned and tried to determine what Lon'qu was to her. She couldn't tell him Chrom that Lon'qu was her kind of her babysitter. But she also knew that customarily, many Ylisseans were more strict and judgemental about unmarried cohabitation of the opposite sex than Plegians, especially the older crowd. Hell, Robin had to lie to owner of the condominium building that they were married to let her sign the damned papers, even though by law they weren't allowed to discriminate against them.

Whenever they ran into the owner, she would ask how the baby was coming along, which did not make it a bearable situation for either of Lon'qu or Robin. The owner would then proceed to stare at Lon'qu's crotch and then at his face, muttering along the words of 'he looks healthy…I guess even young, healthy men have issues getting it up'. Lon'qu would usually follow the owner's gaze and then slowly turn away from the old woman once he realized what she was doing. Often times, her neck would strain a little, following his movement. Lon'qu didn't bother notifying the owner that he had no problems…down there, but decided to be respectful and let her think whatever she wanted. Then she would look at Robin and scold her that she needs to get a move on before her uterus shrivels up and becomes toxic for the baby. She would also comfort the fake married couple in her own unique way that if they're concerned about having ugly children, to not worry: half-Plegian and half-Cho'sinese babies are usually beautiful. Old Ylissean women were so terribly nosy.

She stared intently at Chrom with a serious thinking face. She couldn't tell if he was a hard traditional conservative Ylissean. Then again, the way he did his job made the answer kind of obvious.

"Did I say something wrong?" Chrom murmured, afraid that he had offended her.

"He's my…housemate," Robin picked her words carefully. It wasn't a lie. Lon'qu _was_ her housemate. Kind of.

"Housemate?" Chrom repeated neutrally. That was a fair explanation, he thought.

Shit, he was judging her, Robin panicked. "Yeah, he's umm my… gay housemate. He hasn't really come out of the closet, so just don't mention it, please?" Robin stuffed in a small untrue detail.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course," Chrom nodded in understanding.

"It's just easier to pay the bills," Robin added another false detail. Who were they kidding? Both Robin and Lon'qu made more than enough money to live separately and then some. "You're really nosy," she sighed. It was a sore reminder that her life in Ylisse was mostly constructed of lies. A castle of lies. One day it would crumble and she would eventually be reduced to nothing.

Wait, why was she lying to him about Lon'qu?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Chrom apologized. It wasn't the reaction she expected.

"It's fine," she jumped off her stool and wobbled over to the cash register to pay. Chrom did the same, but kept an eye on Robin in case she fell. Robin fumbled with her clutch and pulled out a card. The server jammed the card into the interact machine and handed Robin. She thoughtfully punched in her pin and specifically chose to tip a miniscule amount to send a message.

"Do you want the receipt?" she asked.

"Nope," Robin responded and headed out by herself, leaving the officer behind.

Robin's heeled feet struggled down the three steps in front of the entrance of The Shepherds. When she managed to make it to the sidewalk without falling over. Gingerly, she slipped off Chrom's blazer and carefully folded it over her arm. She would return it to him before they split ways.

Robin gently tipped her head back to look up. Her eyes searched for the stars but only found a couple sparsely dotting the night. All the light pollution of Ylisstol made it difficult to see any twinkling stars.

"What's a beautiful lady doing all by herself out this late at night?" said a deep voice. Robin rolled her head to the side to see a man with a pattern shaved into his head. The remainder of his hair melded into an equally oddly patterned beard. He had thick lips and contrastingly small, beady eyes. Around him were a group of sketchy looking men. Most of them wore a sneer on their faces, while some sucked on cigarettes.

Robin narrowed her eyes and stood her ground. Her body tensed up ready to fight. The man smirked and prowled his way towards Robin. "No need to be afraid," he leaned in and whispered in her ear. She recoiled at his words but maintained deadly eye contact with him. "I jus' wanna talk."

"Leave me alone," she firmly said.

"Why don't you come with us for some fun?" he cooed, pacing around her. "I saw you at the Reeking Box. You look like you know how to _dance_. You'll be making a lot on the side," he rubbed his fingers in her face. "I'm sure men will…" the man's eyes wandered over Robin, "pay lots of money for your services."

Robin laughed. He evidently missed her dance moves from earlier. And these weren't even her real boobs. It threw off the man's power game and he stumbled back a step. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "You must be new."

"What?" he demanded in confusion. His men stiffened up and tried to assess what to do in the sudden change of character from the prey. The leader of them held up his hand signaling to his men to relax. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Are you an undercover cop?"

"No one of significance," she gave a small indifferent shrug. "Just in this business," she gestured to them with her finger, "you're supposed to target those who are usually easier to intimidate and generally younger. Well, unless, of course, they're interested in this line of work. Oh, and if they have low self-esteem or self-worth, it's a lot easier to manipulate them." She nodded sarcastically. "If I remember correctly, prostitution is still illegal in Ylisse."

"Who do you work for?" he demanded in a dangerously low voice.

"No one," she matched his threatening tone. "I _know_ the man who—"

"Robin," called Lon'qu as he immediately jogged up to her side. Robin hadn't noticed he had arrived already. He wore a dark expression the moment he assessed what was going on.

"Lon'qu! I'm so sorry. I had no idea this was your bitch," the man who had been previously bothering her bowed a little in Lon'qu's presence and stepped back, yielding to him.

"What?" Robin hissed at the man, who nervously glanced over at her. "How dare—"

"You dare call her a 'bitch'? Know your place, Vincent," Lon'qu growled.

"Yes, of course, of course. My deepest apologies," Vincent faced Robin.

"If I see you near her or in this area, you and your men will not see the light of day again," Lon'qu threatened. Even Robin felt chills down her spine and her blood go cold at his lethal words.

"Robin!" Chrom ran out of the door. Robin snapped her attention to behind her. "You were gone as soon as I turned around. I dropped all the change I was handing to the server and…what's going on?" Chrom felt the gravity of the situation.

"Nothing, Officer Exalt," Robin smiled, her previous malignant façade evaporated away at the sight of Chrom.

"Officer?" The word was repeated in hushed voices amongst Vincent's henchmen. They began to scurry away from the scene.

"He was just asking for directions," Robin explained sweetly. Only Vincent remained, cowering in front of Lon'qu. Robin kindly directed while pointing down the street, "Just down the street and turn left."

"T-thank you," Vincent nodded and headed down the opposite way Robin had pointed.

"He just went the wrong way," Chrom raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Lon'qu!" Chrom waved cheerfully. Lon'qu grunted at Chrom in response and kept an eye on him. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me!" Chrom reassured. Lon'qu frowned at the policeman. Robin did a face palm. Lon'qu turned to look at Robin with the expectation of an explanation.

"It's nothing. Chrom's really drunk," Robin pushed Lon'qu towards the car and patted him on the back. Lon'qu hesitantly complied.

"What are you talking about, Robin? I had one be—," Chrom denied.

"Nope. He's piss drunk, Lon'qu. Chrom's lying. Let's go home," Robin cut him off. "Officer, you're drunk. Can you recite the alphabet backwards?" Robin gave him a look telling him to go away.

"How many people can actually do that?" Chrom gave her a funny look.

"Well, from where I'm from, that's what the cops ask you to do after you walk in a straight line and still want to prove you're drunk," Robin volleyed back after confirming Lon'qu was in the driver's seat.

"Wow," Chrom shook his head. "Wait, Robin," Chrom chased after her and grabbed her hand. Both their eyes fell to the point of physical contact. Chrom withdrew his hand faster than he grabbed hers.

"We're leaving," Lon'qu opened the window on her side of car and firmly urged Robin to get into the car.

"I…umm…" Chrom stuttered. "Would you like to…"

"Robin," Lon'qu repeated her name.

"Chrom, I need to go," Robin nervously glanced back behind her. "It was nice talking to you." She gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder. Chrom watched Robin hop into the front passenger seat with his blazer. She had forgotten to return it. Regretfully, he watched Robin and Lon'qu leave in their black car.

* * *

"Robin," Lon'qu said her name in a stern tone as he drove down Main Street.

"Lon'qu," she said his name, playing at his game. She felt like she was a child about to be chastised by a parent. "So, I totally got scouted as a prostitute. I may not look it but apparently I have the potential," she laughed initially then it died off into a nervous gurgle.

"Mmm," Lon'qu gruffly responded. "I apologize for what happened."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I don't know what goes on and how it works," Robin rested her head on her propped elbow. "It's a good thing that no one recognizes me in Ylisse though," Robin sighed in relief. "Secret's still safe."

At the stop sign, his eyes fell on the blazer covering her legs like a blanket. "You don't look like a potential prostitute. He was scouting escorts."

"Great, a classy prostitute," Robin grumbled. She heard Lon'qu sigh. She knew what he meant, but she was being difficult and didn't feel like apologizing.

"Why weren't you with your friends?" Lon'qu asked. "We have a deal."

"I didn't stray from our deal. I was with them. Initially. I just felt really awful and then I was hungry. So I went to grab a bite before coming up. So that I could sober up in case I felt like jumping you."

"I can handle myself."

"Yeah, only if they have a dick. Sorry. That was mean."

Lon'qu didn't take the bait to start a fight with her. He remained quiet for a moment and then said, "It was him again."

"Yeah."

"Since when were you two on first name basis? What are you playing at?"

"What do you mean?" Robin frowned, feeling accused. "Lon'qu there's _nothing_ going on between us. I just ran into him when I wanted to grab some food because, honestly, I didn't enjoy clubbing that much. He was a space filler beside me to ward off the creeps hitting on me in the bar."

"You went to a bar all by yourself in your state?" Lon'qu frowned. "Can you use your head and be cautious for once? What if something did happen? You know _this_ isn't going to last forever. I don't want you to shorten your stay in Ylisse by making a mistake."

"Ouch," Robin winced at his words. She curled up in her seat and stared out the window again.

"Are you listening?" Lon'qu demanded. Robin didn't respond. "Miss? Miss? Robin?"

She abruptly turned around. "I thought we both mutually understood and made it clear that I'd never fuck a cop. I hate them. Protectors of the people. Filthy lies," Robin angrily uttered under her breath. "Do you really not believe me when I say that? I wasn't born yesterday!" She turned to face him with tears glistening her eyes. "Especially after what they did to my mother," she reminded him in a terrifying whisper. "And…and…" she furiously wiped away the couple of tears that escaped. Weak, she thought. She was weak. She couldn't even finish her sentence.

Lon'qu sadly uttered, "My apologies, Miss."

"It's not you," Robin whispered. There he went again, establishing a distance between them. "It's nothing."

"Understood," he stated.

The remainder of the ride was deafeningly silent. Once they arrived home and Lon'qu parked the car, he found Robin asleep. He sat there for a moment drowning in his thoughts. This job was tearing him apart.

He got out of the driver's seat and headed over to her side. He opened the door and unclipped her seatbelt. He was hesitant to carry her up, in case she woke up and panicked. But then again, she didn't seem like she'd wake up even if he were to drop her.

Lon'qu scooped Robin out of the passenger seat and into his arms. She stirred, making him freeze, but then she snuggled into his chest and continued to remain in her deep slumber. He relaxed. Lon'qu was too tired to bother freaking out about their proximity. He just wanted to get her home, where it was safe. He closed the door and locked the car. Carefully, so as not to wake Robin, he took her upstairs. She fit perfectly in his arms. She relaxed him.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Okay, hold your hand up if your heart throbbed at the opening scene when you saw Chrom AND when he helped you up in the first chapter?

My heart skipped. Not gonna even deny it. Why? Because I'm FE:A trash. (And proud of it.)

Let me know what you thought of this chapter! I love and seriously appreciate hearing from everyone. (It's like the best pick-me-up.) See you next Friday and thanks for reading! :)


	8. Do Things that Make You Happy

**Author's Notes:** I am posting a day early because tomorrow I won't have any time to edit and post. Thank you for all your support, follows, and reviews so far. :) I'm really grateful to all of you who are taking the time to enjoy (I hope) 'Pursuit'.

I may not be able to make AS regular posts due some personal issues that are taking my attention away from fun projects, such as 'Pursuit'. I will try my utter best to do so AND make posts, but I MAY miss the tentative deadline of every Friday by a couple days. We'll see. I hope that doesn't deter you from coming back and checking occasionally to see if I've updated. :)

In exchange, as a pre-apology gift, I wrote over 11,000 words for this chapter. :D (This is how much I love you guys.)

* * *

 **Chapter 8 - Do Things that Make You Happy**

Robin wandered out of her room. The lights were dimmed and in the distance there was a male silhouette on one of the couches. There was a slim black laptop on his lap. Robin rubbed her eyes and squinted at the man.

"Can't sleep?" Lon'qu asked softly.

"Yeah," Robin sighed creeping her way closer to the group of couches. She was still in her dress and each step she took ached from the night out. Drowsily, she lied down on the sofa on the side.

"Do you want some tea?" Lon'qu asked.

"No," she whispered.

Lon'qu averted his eyes when he saw that Robin's dress was dangerously close to revealing everything based on her exposed upper thigh. She curled up, as if she knew what he was thinking.

"Do you want the blanket?" Lon'qu grabbed the throw blanket that was carefully folded and hung on the back of the couch he was sitting on.

"Sure," she responded in a ghostly voice. Lon'qu set his laptop on the coffee table and stood up. He stood over Robin and draped it over her body. "Thanks. What time is it?"

"Around four AM," he answered as he sat down, folding his glasses and placing them on top of the closed laptop. "Is something bothering you?"

"Mmm…just couldn't sleep and wanted some company," she murmured sleepily. "Did you carry me back in?"

"Yes," he confirmed.

"Thanks," she snuggled further back into blanket. "I can always count on you…I appreciate you a lot," she yawned.

"You'll get nightmares if you sleep out in the cold," Lon'qu warned. It was a superstition that his mother used say.

"Mmm," Robin hummed. "I'll go back to my room in a bit. You can keep working," she murmured.

After watching Robin for a while longer, Lon'qu slipped his glasses back on and opened his laptop and got back to work. Soon, Robin surrendered to her fatigue.

* * *

Amelie lightly pressed her fingertips against the madeleines cooling on the rack resting on the marble tabletop. They were warm, but not hot enough to burn her children's fingers. She bustled about, grabbing plates and cups, preparing snack time.

"Aversa! Robin! I made some madeleines!" she called out from the kitchen.

"Coming!" shouted a teenaged voice.

A pretty, young teenager with silver hair and plum eyes bounced into the kitchen: she had inherited her mother's hair and her father's eyes. She had a short skirt with a tight top clinging to her tall figure. From one glance, one could tell she was going to be a femme fatale once she reached adulthood. There were a pair of headphones blasting music from a portable CD player. She pulled the stool out from under the island table in the kitchen.

"Avie, sweetie," the woman with the same silver hair smiled kindly at her.

"Mom, it's Aversa. Avie makes me sound like I'm two!" Aversa protested. "We went over this."

"Okay, hunny. Headphones," Amelie reminded. Aversa rolled her eyes and pulled the headphones off and wrapped them around the CD player. "Thank you. What time do you need to be dropped off for the sleepover tonight?"

"Five thirty," Aversa answered. "We're having a pizza party for dinner."

"Are you sure you wanna be wearing that?" Amelie raised an eyebrow.

"It's the latest fashion trend. I gotta keep up with my fellow rival models," Aversa defended her outfit.

"Okay, well you're not on the catwalk right now, so you're going to dress with modesty like other normal teenagers before you go out," Amelie lectured.

"Fine," she groaned. Aversa had argued with her mother last time that _all_ teenagers dressed like this, but lost that debate pretty bad. Especially when the threat of involving her father came into the picture.

"Avie…sorry. Aversa," Amelie corrected herself. "Have you seen your sister?"

"Iunno," Aversa walked over the fridge and grabbed the milk.

"Robin?" Amelie shouted again. "Come eat! I made your favorite snack!"

After a couple more moments, both Aversa and Amelie heard little feet pitter-pattering against the wooden floor. Aversa glided her way back to the stool at the kitchen island. She poured herself a glass of milk.

"Madeleines!" exclaimed a little girl with sparkling brown eyes.

"Took you long enough!" Amelie huffed at her youngest daughter.

"I was drawing Grandpa a picture," she explained with a tone that said that this task was the most important thing in the world. Robin's small body struggled to climb up on the tall stool. Aversa grabbed her under the armpits and lifted her onto the seat.

"Thanks, Abbie," Robin grinned without her two front teeth.

Aversa was about to correct her younger sister but didn't bother. Last time she tried to pronounce "Aversa", it ended up sounding like "Aberta". It sounded nothing like her name. She'll fix that once Robin got her two front teeth.

Aversa picked up a madeleine delicately between her fingers and bit into it. "Mmm."

"I made more than enough to share with your friends tonight," said Amelie.

"Thanks, Mom. Everyone _loves_ your baked goods," Aversa smiled.

Amelie grinned while pouring Robin a glass of milk, "I do my best."

Robin's little fingers wrapped around one of the madeleines and she brought it to her mouth. Robin initially tried to bite into the little cake normally, but found that the lack of two front teeth made it difficult. She pulled a funny face and took the madeleine out of her mouth. Robin angled the madeleine to an area where she had teeth and bit into it. Happily, she chewed.

"Good?" Amelie doted on Robin.

Robin nodded enthusiastically. Her dark locks bounced as her head moved. She brushed her hair away from her face. Robin went for another bite and got some hair in her mouth too. Amelie walked behind Robin and gathered her hair into one hand. She combed through Robin's hair with her fingers. Amelie pulled her own hair elastic band out letting her long silver hair cascade down her back and shoulders. With the expertise of a mother who did her daughters' hairs every morning, she secured a cute, bouncy ponytail for Robin with her hair elastic. Amelie gave one last satisfied tug.

Before returning to the opposite side of the table, Amelie gave Aversa a loving pet. "Did you finish all your homework?"

"I finished it in class," Aversa answered obediently.

"Good," Amelie praised.

"How long is Grandpa staying this time?" Aversa asked, reaching for a third madeleine. "Mmm, I shouldn't," she stopped. "I need to maintain my weight."

"Aversa, we went over this. Eating healthy and proper exercise is the best way to be in good shape. We had a deal. You promised you would eat normally if I allowed you to model," Amelie crossed her arms and gave her daughter a stern look. "Besides, you're beautiful the way you are."

"It doesn't count when you say it, Mom. You _have_ to say it because you're my _mom_ ," Aversa whined.

"I think you're beautiful too," Robin agreed with her mother.

Aversa gave Robin and unsatisfied look. Then, she bit into the third madeleine and said with a mouthful, "Happy, now?"

"Very," Amelie gave a single nod.

"How long is Grandpa staying anyway, Mom?" Aversa washed down the cake with some milk.

"Yeah, how long is he staying?" Robin echoed her older sister. Her little legs kicked in the air.

"He's staying for a week," Amelie answered. "He's so excited to spend time with you guys."

"Yay!" Robin threw her hands up in the air.

"I wonder what gifts he's bringing us this time!" Aversa excitedly thought out loud.

"Aversa," Amelie sternly stated.

"What?" Aversa giggled.

After the two sisters were done eating, Amelie cleaned up after them and packed away the remainder of the madeleines in a container for Aversa's sleepover party. She set it aside and went into the living room for her usual reading break. Amelie settled down in the couch against the arm.

Robin peeked her head out from the hallway. Then, she scrambled back upstairs and then returned with her own book. "I'm going to read too!" she excitedly shouted and ran towards the couch her mother was on.

"Okay, sweetie," Amelie glanced up from her book. She watched Robin struggle up on the couch. Her mother grabbed the waistband of Robin's pants and pulled her up. It always gave Amelie a tinge of sadness to see how small Robin was. She knew that there were many children who were small like Robin because their families couldn't afford proper food because of the depression. Their family was one of the lucky ones because of the wealth they were blessed with. As terrible as it was, Amelie was relieved that it was someone else's children than hers. "You need to eat lots to become big and strong!"

"Yes, Mommy," Robin laid her head on Amelie's lap. She opened her own book up and immersed herself in the picture book with a tactician accompanying a prince and his army to defeat an evil dragon. Of course, she couldn't necessarily read what it said, but the pictures sufficed. She had heard the story several times.

Robin eventually fell asleep and Amelie removed the open book resting on Robin's face and set it aside. She stirred and curled up closer to her mother. Amelie also put her book down and began to pat Robin's back affectionately. Her attentions were diverted from the youngest Grima of the family when she heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.

Amelie watched the hallway expectantly. A tall man with dark hair and tan skin came into view. "Validar?" Amelie called out.

"I'm needed at work," he said as he entered the living room.

"Oh, okay," Amelie nodded. "Can you give Aversa a ride to her friend's on the way?"

Validar glanced at his wristwatch. "Yeah, I have enough time. I can do that."

"Thanks, hon," uttered Amelie. Her calm face scrunched into concern when she realized her husband almost appeared fidgety. Like he was anxious. It was a rare sight from a man who was always so composed and calm. "Is something the matter?" she inquired cautiously.

"It's nothing," Validar brushed her aside. "Aversa! I'm giving you a ride, hurry up and come down!" Robin woke up with a start. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hi, Pather," Robin murmured. She wasn't able to pronounce any F's ever since she lost her front teeth.

"Hello, Robin," Validar acknowledged. "Aversa!" he called again.

"I'm almost done packing!" Aversa yelled back. In a couple minutes, she came down with a gigantic duffle bag. To her mother's relief, Aversa had changed into a pair of jeans and a loose fitting sweatshirt.

"Ready to go?" Validar asked.

"Yes, Father," Aversa shifted the bag on her shoulder.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

"Wait!" Amelie stopped the two before they left.

"What?" they asked in unison. There was no denying that they were father and daughter with their shared warm, tan skin, violet eyes, and dominating height.

"I want a good-bye kiss from both of you," Amelie walked up to her daughter and husband. "Have a nice sleepover party," she planted a big kiss on Aversa's cheek. "Good luck with work, I'm sure it'll be fine." Validar leaned in and passionately kissed her, wrapping his arm around his wife.

"You sure nothing's going on?" Amelie giggled, being taken aback by the intense kiss.

"Ew, guys, let's keep it PG!" Aversa gagged. Her parents ignored her.

"What time is your father coming today?" Validar inquired.

"Around eight or nine," Amelie answered.

"Let Lawrence know that I'm sorry that I won't be able greet him tonight," Validar requested.

"Oh, okay. Work emergency's that bad?" Amelie grimaced.

"Yes," Validar confirmed. "Okay, I need to go. Let's go, Aversa."

"Bye, Mom," Aversa waved her hand and left with her father.

"Bye!" Robin shouted out after them.

"It's just us two, Robin!" Amelie grinned at her daughter. "What should we have for dinner?"

"Madeleines!" Robin exclaimed. Amelie laughed.

To Robin's dismay, madeleines weren't on the dinner menu. But nonetheless, dinner was satisfying and bedtime arrived faster than Robin anticipated. Amelie had finally coaxed Robin to go brush her teeth and change into her pyjamas with the promise of the usual story, 'Fire Emblem'. When Amelie was halfway up the stairs to check on Robin brushing her teeth, the phone rang. She turned around to answer the phone in the living room.

"Hello?" Amelie picked up the phone.

"Amelie, it's Dad," said the caller.

"Dad, how are you?" Amelie asked. "Are you at the train station? Did you call a cab yet?"

"I'm good. So, bad news," Lawrence admitted.

"What's wrong?" Amelie demanded with concern laced in her question.

"I won't be able to come in until tomorrow," Lawrence broke the news his little girl. "The train got delayed. I'm staying at a hotel right now."

"Oh," Amelie sighed in relief. "I thought it was something more serious! Especially with the rallies now."

"Well, that's the reason why the train got delayed," Lawrence admitted.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Amelie gripped the phone tighter.

"Sweetie, everything's fine," Lawrence reassured.

"No, it's not. You're the Minister of Finance, Dad. There are a lot of people that want to hurt you, especially with the depression, right now. They think it's your fault that the country is so in debt."

"You're worrying again. Just like your mother," Lawrence reminded.

"Mom would've said the same thing," Amelie snapped. She heard him sigh. "Why didn't you just let Kylo drive you like usual? Why the train?"

"It's because I miss your mom. You know we met on the train," Lawrence quietly said. Amelie bit her lip at the response.

"Sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to…" Amelie awkwardly played with the phone coil cord.

"It's fine, sweetie. Asking Kylo to drive me would've been a better idea. I'm sure your mother would've said letting my chauffeur to take me was the smart thing to do too," Lawrence chuckled.

"Mommy?" Robin asked. She had settled down on one of the steps on the stairs. She peeked at her in between the stair railings.

Amelie snapped her head back. "Hey, Robin."

"Is that Robin?" Lawrence asked eagerly. "Put her on the phone."

"Someone wants to talk to you," Amelie gestured Robin to come grab the phone. Robin climbed down the stairs and received the phone from Amelie.

"Hello?" Robin answered the phone. "Grandpa! I drew a picture for you! I can't wait for your stories! You're a really really really good storyteller! Mmhmm. I love you too! I'll see you tomorrow. Okay, here's Mommy." Robin handed the phone back.

"Okay, go settle in bed, I'll be right up," Amelie ushered Robin back upstairs.

"I can't wait to see Aversa and Robin tomorrow," Lawrence's voice was much brighter.

"They're both really excited," Amelie agreed. "So is Validar."

Lawrence grunted stiffly at the mention of her husband.

"Oh, Dad. You promised you'd warm up to him!" Amelie scolded. "He's not that bad."

"Doesn't mean I have to like him," Lawrence argued.

"You just don't like him because he took your baby girl away," Amelie shook her head.

"Sure," Lawrence gruffed. "Anyway, I'll be arriving around nine in the morning tomorrow."

"I'll let Validar know so he can come get you. There's a work emergency, so he's probably going to be there all night," Amelie planned out his arrival.

"It's fine, Amelie. I'll take the cab. No need to bother an exhausted man."

"You sure, Dad?"

"I'm sure. Okay, I'm off to bed," Lawrence announced.

"Bye," Amelie uttered.

"I love you, sweets," Lawrence cooed.

"I love you too, Dad," Amelie finally hung up.

Amelie headed upstairs to read Robin her promised story. Robin had already settled into her bed and had the book ready in her hands. Her mother settled down beside her and Robin snuggled up to her side. Not even halfway through the book, she had fallen asleep. Amelie tucked Robin into the bed and left to get ready for bed herself.

Amelie yawned as she also settled into bed. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was half past ten. Her fingers tugged at the switch of the bedside lamp. Amelie adjusted herself in the dark. Her bed felt a little empty without her husband beside her, but soon enough, sleep claimed her.

In the wee hours of the night, the peaceful silence was rudely disrupted by the cacophony of shattering glass. Amelie abruptly woke up. She froze with her eyes opened wide with fear. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to calm her nerves. Carefully, she peeled off her comforter and sat up. Her feet touched the cold floor, waking her up a touch more in addition to the adrenaline rush.

Silently, she waited again for more sounds. Maybe it was her imagination.

"Mommy?" called a faint voice. Robin.

"I'm coming, Robin!" she called as loudly as she could, feeling a rush of courage to ensure her daughter's safety. Amelie opened her door and rushed down the hallway to Robin's room.

"Mommy?" Robin had her messy brown hair framing her small face. Her hand was clasped on the door knob. "What's going on?"

"Shh," Amelie fell down on her knees in front of Robin and pulled her into a tight hug. "I need you to be very quiet," Amelie whispered. "We're going to play hide and seek."

"You never let me play games this late at night," Robin rubbed her eyes.

"Robin, it's okay. Tonight we're going to make an exception," Amelie trembled. She heard more glass shattering followed by a clicking sound. It was the lock. She picked Robin up and carried her into Robin's room. "I want you to hide in the closet, okay?"

"But who's it?" Robin yawned.

"M-Mommy's it," Amelie stuttered. She needed to call the police. She heard the floor creak downstairs.

"But if you know where I'm hiding…" Robin yawned again. "That's not how you play hide and seek."

"Robin. Please. Just do what I say," Amelie begged Robin, grabbing her daughter firmly by the arms.

"Mommy, you're scaring me," Robin whimpered tiredly.

"Where are you?" a deep voice howled from downstairs.

Amelie froze. "Who's that?" Robin buried her face into Amelie's chest.

"Robin, stay here. Promise me you won't come out," Amelie picked Robin up and hid her in her closet.

"Mommy, why?" Robin cried.

"Shh, sweetie. I need you to be quiet. Not a word," Amelie choked on her words and kissed Robin's face over and over again. "Promise me, Robin."

Robin stared back up without word.

"Promise me, Robin," Amelie demanded.

Afraid, Robin nodded. "Will you be back soon?"

"As fast as lightning. I promise."

Regretfully, her mother pulled away and left Robin behind. Amelie crouched down at the top of the stairs, listening with ears peeled in attempts locate where the thief was.

"Are you sure about this?" asked a new voice. There were two of them. Amelie swallowed.

"Yeah. It's the only way," hissed his partner.

From the sounds of it, Amelie deduced that the men were in the kitchen. It appeared that they broke in through the backyard door. She could reach the phone in the living room and call the police. Amelie inhaled slowly, trying to calm her nerves and began the dangerous trek downstairs. She listened to the heavy footsteps of the men wandering about in the kitchen.

"Come on, let's check the rest of the house," the first man said. Two pairs of feet stomped their way towards the living room. Amelie froze for a moment, then she held her breath. It was now or never. She ran down the stairs and reached the phone.

"Did you hear that?" the second man demanded.

"It came from over there," said the first man gruffly.

Amelie kept glancing between behind her and the phone. Her fingers shook violently as she dialed 911. The footsteps got closer. The phone was still ringing.

Then finally, "911 Operator. What's the emergency?" Amelie almost sighed in relief.

"Two men have broken into my house. I live on 239 Palm Street—" Amelie held her breath.

"Put down the phone," said a man. She felt a hard objected pressed against the back of her head.

"We've already dispatched police officers to that location," the operator stated. "Ma'am?"

Amelie's heart pounded against her chest. It pounded so hard it was painful.

"I said put down the phone!" the man pushed her head with his gun.

Amelie trembled and put the phone receiver down. She put up both her hands. "Please, I'll give you everything we have. Just put your gun away."

"Where's Falk?" he hissed.

The man was looking for her father. Amelie closed her eyes and held back her tears.

"H-he's not here," Amelie stuttered. "His train got delayed."

"Don't lie to me," the man grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back. She gritted her teeth. The gun cocked against the side of her head felt lethally cold.

"Lawrence Falk isn't here," Amelie repeated.

"He's supposed to be here!" he yelled angrily in her ear. "Go check the rooms. The guest room should be upstairs."

"Please," she begged. Her heart dropped at the thought of them discovering Robin. "No, please," she pleaded as she listened to the man's partner run upstairs. The sound of the man slamming doors open and upturning each room made Amelie whimper and cringe.

"I swear, if you're lying, you're going to die too, bitch," he dangerously growled in her ear. "Anything?"

"Yeah!" the man upstairs shouted.

The man holding Amelie hostage perked up hopefully. "Is it him?"

"No," the man upstairs came out from the shadows with a firm grip on a child's nightdress.

"Robin," Amelie cried.

"Mommy," Robin began to cry. "I'm scared."

"She's just a child, let her go," Amelie cried at the sight of her frightened child.

"Shut up, brat!" the man upstairs shook Robin. He was clad in a policeman's uniform. She cried louder.

"Fuck! Where is he?" the first man yelled into Amelie's ear. She winced at the volume.

"It's okay, Robin," Amelie reassured.

"M-Mommy…w-why is the p-p-policeman b-being s-so m-m-mean?" Robin asked between her ear-splitting cries. "Y-you said t-they p-p-protect us f-from b-bad people."

"Make her stop!" the first man yelled.

"I think she's telling the truth. Falk isn't here," the man shoved Robin aside and came down the stairs.

"Fuck!" the first man swore, throwing Amelie aside like a rag doll. She fell down to the floor, her hair spilling over her shoulders, grazing the ground. Amelie slowly lifted her head to look at the attackers.

Robin was right. They were both dressed in police uniforms. The man who had held her hostage had his hands up against his head in frustration with the gun still in one hand. His face was enraged. Amelie tried to steady her breathing. Every cell in her body telling her to run was overruled by her maternal instinct to protect Robin.

"What do we do?" the second man inquired.

"I don't know! This wasn't the plan!" he threw his hands up in anger. Amelie sat on the ground helplessly, waiting for their decision.

"Are you sure you got the details right?" the second man sighed.

"Of course I did!" the first man hissed. Amelie glared at the two men. This didn't go amiss by the angrier police officer. "What are you staring at, bitch?" the first man snapped. Amelie lowered her gaze. In the background, Robin continued to cry loudly. "I'm going to fucking kill you if you don't fucking shut the hell up!" he yelled at the child. Thoughtlessly, he waved the gun at Robin.

"No!" Amelie jumped at the man's arm. He struggled with her and then… _bang!_ Amelie crumpled to the ground, clutching her stomach.

"Shit! You weren't supposed to kill her!" the second man yelled. "Look at what you've done, you dastard! He's going to kill both of us now!"

"She fucking came at me! She tried to take my gun!" he angrily argued. He shook and nearly dropped his weapon. "Run," he decided. He took a few steps backwards and then turned around and ran out of the way they broke in. The second man also cursed but soon followed suit when he saw the blood pooling around the body that had crumpled to the floor.

"Mommy!" Robin sobbed and climbed down the stairs one step at a time. "Mommy," she repeated over and over again. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, Robin crawled to her mother. Her little hands were stained by the crimson lake, spreading its sinful message across the wooden floor.

"It's okay, Robin," Amelie smiled weakly.

"I'll call 911, Mommy. Just like you taught me when I need help," Robin wiped away her tears, smearing her face with blood. She stumbled back on her feet and went to the phone. She dialed the three numbers as she continued to bawl.

"911 Operator. What's the emergency?" asked the operator.

"Mommy is bleeding everywhere," she gasped for air in between her breaths.

"Okay, can you tell me the address?" the questions began.

"239 P-Palm S-street," Robin coughed a couple times between her uncontrollable howling.

"I received notification that help has already arrived on location," said the operator calmly.

"Hurry, please," Robin dropped the phone before they could exchange another word. She tripped over her own feet on her way back to her dying mother. "Mommy," she sniffed in between her sobs.

"Robin, sweetie," Amelie faintly murmured. Her innocuous moonlight hair had soaked up the blood. Her skin was cold, clammy, and pale. It terrified Robin. She felt helpless. She didn't know what to do. There was so much blood. So much red. "It's okay," she whispered, trying to comfort her daughter in her last moments. "It's okay," she repeated soothingly. Amelie pulled Robin in close to her, rubbing her small, shaking back. Robin rested her head against her heaving chest.

Amelie finally mustered the energy to say her last words. "Robin, I want you to listen to me."

"Y-yes?" Robin looked up to face her mother's kind expression with raw, swollen eyes with snot dribbling down her face.

"No matter what happens. No m-matter the t-terrible things that happen," Amelie shivered. "There's always h-hope in the w-world." She caressed Robin's small face. "T-there's good in the w-world. D-do things that make you happy, Robin. Mommy loves you so much. And Avie. Tell your sister and father I love them…"

"No! You tell them!" Robin shook her head.

"Robin," Amelie whispered.

"No!" Robin shouted.

"Robin, please," Amelie squeezed her tight fisted hand. "Promise, Mommy?"

Robin's will to fight against her mother drained away. She cried, "I promise."

Amelie smiled one last time. Her eyes never left the Robin's face of despair. Her chest ached: she didn't want to leave her babies in such a miserable world without her to protect them. Then her last unwilling breath left her lips. Her eyes closed. And her hand slipped off Robin's face and hit the floor with the weight of a child's world falling apart.

"Mommy?" Robin shook Amelie. "Mommy?" Robin tried again. She repeated the word over and over again, with each attempt of trying to wake up her mother more earnest than the last. Tears spilled out of Robin's eyes.

It was the longest night of her life. Robin waited and waited for someone to save her from hell. Her frail head remained on her mother's chest. The ends of her obsidian hair were stained with cold blood. Her small hands clutched fistfuls of her mother's nightgown. Petrified, she rested her head on her mother's chest, holding on for dear life with eyes wide open, afraid if she blinked, she'd miss someone coming to save her and her mother. Waiting.

Her grandfather arrived that morning to find Robin clinging to her mother's cold, lifeless body. They named Amelie's murder the 'tragedy of the decade'. Soon after, Lawrence Falk, withdrew from his position of Plegia's Minister of Finance and Validar Grima succeeded him. Robin and Aversa grew up without a loving mother.

From a young age, Robin learned that the world was unfair and merciless.

* * *

Robin stirred in her bed sheets. She felt the fluffy duvet caressing her body. She brought up her hand to her cheeks. They were tearstained. She wiped them away with the back of her hand as if it were nothing.

She had the dream again. The one where she lied there with her dying mother and it would play that scene on repeat until she woke up. Other than that, she didn't remember much. She sniffed and rolled over to her other side because of the dampness of her pillow. It wasn't like she hadn't had the reoccurring nightmare for years after her mother's death. She was used to it. It didn't torment her as much. What bothered her the most wasn't the nightmare. It was how she would always wake up in tears. It was so long ago, she didn't feel anything anymore. Life went on.

"Do things that make you happy, Robin," she whispered to herself. She scoffed. Then a wave of nausea paired with a throbbing in her head hit her. Slowly, she sat up, nursing her head with the palm of the hand. Robin realized she was in her room again. Lon'qu must've carried her back in.

"Nnhghh," she groaned. Her hair was still partially in the hair tie and her dress had rolled up all the way to her stomach. She tried tugging it down, but with no prevail. Then her fingers tried to grab a hold of the zipper, but she wasn't quite flexible enough. She didn't remember how she even got into the dress.

With morning crusted eyes, she scanned her room for a pair of sweatpants. None. Worst morning ever. But she did find a pair of dirty scrub pants near her vanity. Eh, she'd go with those. She slinked out of her bed to the floor and army crawled to the pants that resembled what a snake skin would look like after being shed off. At snail pace, she sat up and pulled them on. If she lived by herself, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but she cared enough to not scar Lon'qu in the thong she was pretty sure was so wedged up her ass she didn't even feel it anymore.

"Lon'qu?" she called out in a hoarse voice. "Lon—," her voice cracked, "qu?" For a moment, she collapsed to the ground again and lied there. She needed to get it together, but she had the Halidom's worst hangover. Gingerly, she peeled herself off of the floor with her red strapless bunched up around her tummy in week-old scrub pants, finished off with half of a morning fro.

She wandered out of her room rubbing both her eyes. She searched for Lon'qu but couldn't find him. "Lon'qu?" she walked in a circle on the spot. Oh, she had an urge to pee. She shuffled to the washroom because the one in her room was too far now. Once she reached the door, she shook the handle to only be disappointed that it was locked. The faint sound of water echoed in the washroom. The shower was on. Lon'qu was using the washroom. She turned around to shuffle to the washroom in her bedroom.

But before she left, a phone went off. Robin jumped. Gods, she was really hungover. The ringtone wasn't familiar and it clattered against the coffee table as it vibrated. She peeked over on her tippy toes on the spot and saw that it was Lon'qu's cellphone. She shrugged and struggled her way to her bathroom. She didn't even bother turning the light on in the washroom.

Once she relieved herself, she plopped down on the couch with her legs dangling off the arm. She kicked them childishly. Lon'qu's phone began to ring again. She would've yelled at Lon'qu to come get his phone, but her head hurt too much. It was none of her business, so she let it be. After several rings, the caller gave up. Then it started all over again. Robin wanted it to stop. It wasn't helping her hangover and she had an inkling it was urgent.

She grabbed the phone off the coffee table and looked at the caller ID.

 _Ke'ri_

 _XXX-XXX-XXXX_

It wasn't an Ylissean or Plegian number. Curiously, she swiped it. Maybe it was a girlfriend or a lover!

"Lon-lon?" a female voice asked. "It's about time you picked up! I called a hundred times! Hello? Hello?"

Shit. 'Lon-lon' was in trouble.

"Umm, he's unavailable right now. He's in the shower," Robin answered. It was only after she said those easily mistakable words that she realized how they could be interpreted. She couldn't think fast enough to come up with a cover.

"Oh," the girl said quietly. "Who's this?"

"Robin," she answered honestly, sweating for what's the come.

"Are you his girlfriend?" the girl asked.

"Huh? No?" said Robin without knowing how to quite answer the question. "And whom am I speaking to?"

"His sister, Ke'ri."

"I didn't know Lon'qu had a sister."

"Well, he does. He never mentioned me?"

"How old are you?"

"Old enough," she answered.

"Which is?" Robin probed.

Ke'ri sighed on the other end of the line. "If I tell you, will you promise not to treat me like a kid? Lon-lon always treats me like a kid."

"Yeah, I promise," Robin chuckled. What an interesting kid.

"I'm thirteen," she murmured grudgingly.

"Wow, you're pretty much an adult," Robin giggled. She liked Ke'ri. "Would you like me to leave a message for Lon'qu?"

"Who are you talking to?" Lon'qu asked. There was a towel wrapped around his waist. Some droplets of water clung to his damp hair, while others fell and dripped down his well-defined body.

"Gods! Put some clothes on!" Robin screamed at him, immediately looking away. "What's wrong with you?!" Robin grabbed one of the cushion on the couch and chucked it at him. He effortlessly caught it. "Is this revenge for not wearing a bra regularly?!"

"I was about to until I heard you talking to yourself like a crazy, drunk person!" Lon'qu retreated to his room, blushing like a teenage boy who found his father's dirty magazine as he tried to cover himself with the cushion.

"I never thought Lon-lon had naughty tendencies so early in the morning," Ke'ri murmured in disappointment.

"Oh, no. Never," Robin denied adamantly. "He just came out of the shower and he forgot to grab his clothes. Lon-lon, no wait, your brother is very…pure. Very pure." Heck, that was the most skin Robin had seen of Lon'qu. He was usually dressed in his black suits and ties up to his neck.

An awkward silence between the two girls ensued. Robin wracked her brain to say something or talk about something, but she had no idea. So she decided to go generic. "So, what do you wanna do when you grow up?"

"Haven't thought that far," she said quietly. "I try to live day by day."

"Oh, okay. What do you like to do in your free time?" Robin had a wave of deja vu. She almost sympathized with Chrom. Almost.

"Is Lon-lon there yet?" Ke'ri asked.

Robin lifted her head from the couch seat and saw him coming out of his bedroom door. She must've had one hell of a quadruple chin because Lon'qu jumped in surprise when their eyes met.

"You know I'm beautiful from this angle," she sassed him.

Lon'qu dried his hair with the towel and headed towards Robin. She was wearing dirty scrubs with the dress from the night before. It had bundled itself all around her waist. The Gods-awful state of her hair suggested that she got into a life-or-death battle with a homeless person. And oh, boy. Her make-up. Her eyeshadow, mascara, and eyeliner all blended together to give the illusion of two black eyes. She put a Chon'sin panda to shame. Her lipstick had smeared and extended itself on one side of her lips, making her look slightly maniacal and delusional.

When Lon'qu stopped right in front of Robin, she smiled. She looked like a fool. He snorted back a laugh.

"What?" Robin blinked at him.

"Nothing," he brushed it off.

"I think that was a laugh," Robin spoke into the phone. "Oh? So that _is_ Lon-lon laughing."

His face fell and his eyes immediately went to the phone against her ear. It was his. He snatched it out of her hand. He looked furious. Robin watched him wearily without saying a peep.

"Did anyone else call?" Lon'qu demanded.

"N-no," Robin shook her head.

"I'm serious, Robin," Lon'qu warned. "Did anyone else call?"

"No one, just your sister," Robin quietly answered.

Lon'qu relaxed. "I told you that I would call you," Lon'qu lectured into the phone, walking away from Robin. "I've been busy. What is it?" He paced about and made a beeline to the titanic windows showing the view of Ylisstol below. Lon'qu quietly had the phone mostly pressed against his ear: it appeared that Ke'ri was doing most of the talking.

Robin eyed Lon'qu cautiously from the couch. She could tell he was really upset with her. Robin rolled off the couch like a challenged cat and sat there, waiting for Lon'qu to finish. After a couple more words, he hung up the phone and pocketed it. Then, he turned around and marched towards her. Robin shifted her eyes around her, looking for an escape route. She was too hungover to make quick movements anyway, so she sat there, waiting for him to scold her for invading his privacy.

"It just kept ringing!" Robin protested before he could say a word. "I thought it was important!"

"That was private, Miss," Lon'qu frowned down at her.

"Yeah, but it kept…ringing…and I thought that…if you missed it…" Robin murmured. Her stomach grumbled. Lon'qu brought up a hand to his face. "Sorry," she whispered. He had a sound of frustration and then headed to the kitchen to make lunch for the two. "Ah, wait!" He halted and turned around. It was evident that he was really agitated with her from the crinkle between his eyebrows. Reluctantly, Robin asked, "Can you help with my zipper? I think it's stuck. Or I can stay like this. For you. As punishment," she offered, half-jokingly. The silent glare he held told her that she was going to look like an idiot for a little longer.

Then, Lon'qu ambled over to her. She sighed in relief. Robin stood up and turned around. He raised his hands to fulfill her request, but hesitated. First, he needed to brush aside all the hair that had escaped the hair tie. He cleared his throat and then sheepishly gathered her hair and threw it over her shoulder. With shy fingers, he fumbled with the zipper.

"Did you get it?" Robin asked eagerly.

"No," he grumbled in displeased voice. She patiently waited until there was a tiny clicking sound followed by a zip, notifying her that she could escape the red tube of doom.

"Thanks!" Robin smiled. "I can breathe again!" she dramatically gasped for air.

"You might want to check your face," Lon'qu sauntered off the kitchen, hiding his tinged cheeks.

"My face?" Robin raised an eyebrow.

When she turned on the light and faced the mirror in her washroom, she was frightened by her own reflection. She was a clown of hungover despair.

* * *

"Miss, come eat lunch," Lon'qu knocked on her door and left to go sit down.

"Coming!" she hollered. The person who stepped out resembled the woman he looked after. Her hair was neatly tied back into a ponytail with the two braids. Makeup no longer marred her face. She no longer looked like she was walking down the runway of 'duo-professions', where the combination was clown and medical professional.

"Food," she gasped as she sat down.

There were wisps of steam coming off of the dish of rosé penne. An adorable piece of parsley dotted itself in the centre. There was sprinkling of cheese that had melted against the heat of the sauce and the penne. There were delicious pieces of evenly sliced mushrooms, chucks of tomatoes, squares of onions, and cubes of chicken were dressed in the rosé sauce and tossed with the penne. It was begging to be consumed.

Robin picked up her fork but before she could dig in, Lon'qu pushed a giant glass of water and a small dish with two pills in it towards her.

"You probably feel awful, Miss. These will help," Lon'qu withdrew his hand.

"Thanks," Robin popped the pills in and took a swig of the water. "Lon'qu, I can't apolo—."

"I apologize for last night, Miss," he said.

"No, stop. It's fine," she shook her head. He was doing it again: the formalities she detested so much. They had known each other for years now! Robin eyed him cautiously, trying to gauge his mood. He was silently chewing his food. "So I have a proposition… _Lon-lon_ ," she paused for effect before saying his nickname.

Lon'qu spewed out the food he had been chewing like a water fountain to the other side of the table. Robin flinched at the impact with her eyes squeezed shut and didn't say a single word. No, she couldn't say a word.

"That brat," Lon'qu cursed. He momentarily too blinded by his embarrassment to even notice the victim—Robin.

"Mmph," Robin groaned. She waved her hands vigorous at her face. She wanted something to wipe her face with.

"Oh," Lon'qu said in alarm. He frantically grabbed his napkin and reached over to help her but then paused in mid-air. He had no idea where to begin, let alone touch her face.

"Mmmmmmph," Robin said more angrily.

In the end, Lon'qu pathetically just stuck the napkin on her cheek and sat back down. It hung there, limply. Robin peeled off the napkin from her face and wiped off her eyes and her mouth.

"I can't even…" she began to laugh pretty hard as she stood up and stumbled to the washroom. Lon'qu listened to her collapse onto the floor at one point because she was laughing too hard before finally making it to the sink. Lon'qu wanted to hide for his blunder.

Robin returned after washing her face. She wore a silly smile on her face as she sat down. Lon'qu refused to make eye contact as he sat there flustered for his mishap.

"Lon-lon, it's fine," Robin shrugged, stabbing more penne onto her fork. "You need your energy, hurry up and eat, Lon-lon. I kinda deserved it."

"Stop calling me that," Lon'qu finally managed to snap at her.

"Hmm," Robin pretended to think for a moment, "no."

"Stop being so childish, Miss," Lon'qu narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hmm," Robin pretended to think again, "no."

"I'm serious," Lon'qu slammed his hand on the table.

Robin smirked with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Let's make a deal." Robin turned to face him. She placed her elbows on the table top and intertwined her fingers and rested her chin on it. Her lips maliciously curled and her eyes had a glint notifying the opposition knew she already had the upper hand. It was frightening how similar she was to Validar. However, it wasn't the real thing, so he wasn't as tense as he could've been. Despite how Robin tried everything to not be anything like her father, the apple really didn't fall far from the tree.

Lon'qu settled back into his chair and matched her fierceness, "Let's hear it." It wasn't the first deal he's struck with a Grima.

"I won't call you Lon-lon if you drop all your damned formalities," Robin delivered the ultimatum. Lon'qu's eyes narrowed like a tiger rather to pounce. "I mean, I don't mind calling you 'Lon-lon'," Robin shrugged as she forked more food into her mouth. "It's adorable. Lon-lon. Lon-lon," she tried out his name on her tongue, like a piece of candy. She liked the taste of it in her mouth. She was taunting him.

"Fine," he made the deal.

Robin smirked knowing she had won the fight. "You should finish your food, it's delish."

He grudgingly ate, knowing he would need his energy to battle Robin. Robin grinned cheekily at him as she chewed.

* * *

After the early lunch, Robin had taken over the couch in front of the coffee table. She was sprawled out and she listened to Lon'qu type away on his laptop on the other couch. Robin tipped her head back to look at Lon'qu. The black frames that rested on his nose reflected the light on his laptop. Behind them, his eyes flickered back and forth. His eyebrows were knitted into concentration as he did his work.

"What?" he asked without looking up from the screen.

"Nothing," she settled back into position. A perplexed expression spread across her face. "Question."

"Yes?"

"Do you know what happened last night?"

"You don't remember," he stated in a flat, unamused tone.

"No," she answered quietly. She heard Lon'qu sigh. "Don't judge me. I tried calling Phila to ask what happened, but they're still all out cold. It's almost one. But I found this men's blazer, but I don't think I've ever seen you wear it. Is it yours?"

"It's the officer's," Lon'qu closed his laptop.

"Chrom?" Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, him. You ran into him after you left the Reeking Box," Lon'qu removed his glasses.

"Oh," Robin mouthed. She only remembered glimpses of what happened. Her memory was like a film that had scenes snipped out: the scissors being alcohol.

"I came to pick you up at The Shepherds and someone was bothering you," Lon'qu folded his glasses and placed them on top of his laptop.

 _She reached over with her thumb and wiped off the piece of bacon on the side of his lips. What a waste of bacon, she though, and placed it in her mouth_. _Mmm…bacon. "You're good now," she smiled._

Robin's face flushed. "Oh Gods, I hope that was a dream."

"I heard that," Lon'qu interjected her trip down memory lane. "How much did you have?"

"Well, when you're with Phila, you never know how much you drink. She looks all professional and calm, but she's crazy. Not a lot of people believe me. But she is," Robin buried her face into her hands. "Three Awakening shots…the porn star is a double…so five shots in total."

"Robin," Lon'qu lectured. "You're a lightweight."

"Eh, I'm here," Robin shrugged, without making sudden movements. "Head's still killing me." She reached over to the giant glass of water and sucked on straw without getting up. "I'm not going to go out for a while, Mom. So stop nagging me it makes my head hurt more." Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Lon'qu lean his head back on the couch in defeat.

 _She had an urge to peel off the butterfly stitches on his forehead. How could she have forgotten those? She asked him to come closer, but he didn't move. So, Robin took it into her own hands. She wedged her heels into her stool, placed a hand on his thigh for balance, and leaned in. She vaguely remembered him protesting, but she ignored him. Her fingers brushed aside his bangs and peeled off all three adhesives._

 _He smelled nice. Then she realized how close she was to him._

"Hello?" Lon'qu answered his phone and got up.

 _His eyes were mesmerizing like they were searching her face for an answer to an impossible questions. His nose was sculpted to perfection and his lips were tantalizing._

"Yeah, she's here with me," Lon'qu spoke into the phone and glanced behind to see a dazed Robin.

 _She felt an odd feeling bubbling in her chest. Then she snapped back to reality and saw the floor coming towards her._

"Tomorrow evening works. After the workshop? Okay. See you then, sir," Lon'qu nodded.

 _Chrom immediately stood up and offered his hand. After struggling with her tangled limbs with the stool, she hesitantly reached up to grab his hand. His grip was firm and strong. Robin felt safe. He gradually pulled her up closer and closer to him. For a strange reason, breathing, something she had always been good at as a human being, was becoming a challenge. Once she was upright, all she could see was his handsome face. She was disappointed she wasn't taller. She wanted to get closer to him. Close enough to…_

"Oh my Gods!" Robin gasped. "It was beer goggles! Beer goggles!" she argued with herself.

Lon'qu grimaced at Robin. What was wrong with her? Her face was bright red. She abruptly sat up and gulped down the rest of the water.

"Robin?" Lon'qu asked.

"No!" Robin yelled.

"Are you okay?" Lon'qu frowned in confusion.

"Never! You have nothing to worry about Lon'qu. Never," Robin shook her head.

"Never, what?" Lon'qu sighed, not following at all.

"Nothing of importance," Robin murmured.

But then, her mother's words echoed in her head: "Do things that make you happy, Robin…"

"Eugh," Robin buried her face into the couch. "I can't…"

* * *

The muscles in his back were knotted and tense. His neck was stiff. He took a moment to flex his shoulders to try to loosen everything up, but had no luck. He shrugged and went back to work. His fingers continued to rapidly type away on the keyboard, cross-analyzing previous cases and criminal profiles. The several differently sized monitors constantly had new windows popping up. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning the new information. Whenever he found something interesting, he scribbled it down on his notepad.

"How long has he been there for?" asked Cordelia. She tucked a red lock behind her ear.

"Probably all night," scoffed Sully with a hand rested against her hip. "Nothing new."

"No, I'd know, because I was on the graveyard shift," Cordelia denied. "I haven't left that seat until my shift ended. He just appeared in between my shift and when I left to get sleep."

"Oh, yeah? How was your shift?" Sully inquired as they watched their friend continue to work.

"It was eh. The usual," Cordelia shrugged as she yawned. "Do you think he'll move out of my seat if I ask him to?"

"Just poke his ribs, that'll get him," Sully patted Cordelia on the shoulder. "Works for me every time. He's super ticklish there. Oh, can you also remind him that we have the training sesh with the Feroxis tomorrow?"

"Is it Basilio or Flavia?" Cordelia inquired hesitantly.

"Basilio," Sully answered.

Cordelia grimaced and then sighed.

"He's not _that_ bad," Sully slung an arm on Cordelia's shoulder. "He at least gives us breaks. Flavia pushes so much harder."

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that," Cordelia sighed. "I couldn't walk properly for a week after he was done with us."

"You need to train harder," Sully laughed and walked away.

Cordelia crept up behind Chrom. He had such a fixated concentration that he didn't notice Cordelia beside him. Cordelia stuck out a finger ready to give Chrom a poke, but she stopped when she heard his phone vibrating. Her eyes went back and forth between his phone and him, waiting for him to answer it.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Cordelia finally nudged him.

He broke his concentration. "Oh, crap." He answered his phone as he gave Cordelia a nod of acknowledgement. "Lissa, hey," he started off in an apologetic voice and stood up. Chrom collected all his notes and stacked them precariously in one arm. "Sorry about that," he apologized to Cordelia and then he winced when Lissa began yelling into his ear.

"Don't worry about it," Cordelia reassured him. It wasn't the first time Chrom had taken over someone's work station before. He never meant any harm, and it usually happened when that particular person wasn't available to help. He was just too good at his job. He could've picked any position, but he decided on field investigator.

"Lissa, of course I didn't forget," Chrom said into the phone with brisk steps. He dropped the stack of notes on his desk. "Amelie's Bakery, right? Yeah, I'm just around the corner." Chrom saw Frederick at the exit chatting with another officer about something. "I'll be right back. I'm late," he covered the phone and reported to Frederick in a hushed voice.

"I know," Frederick gave him a curt nod. "You know you don't have work today!" Frederick called out after him.

"I'm almost there, Lissa. I'll see you soon," Chrom quickly hung up. He ran to the parking to take his car, but then remembered where he was going, parking was a pain. He stopped in his tracks and thought for a couple moments. The bakery was at least six blocks away. Finding a spot to park near the bakery would take longer than running there.

He would have to run to minimize time.

Internally, he groaned and began to run the six blocks. It appeared he downgraded from the bike to sheer manpower.

* * *

Chrom slowed down a couple metres away from Amelie's Bakery to catch his breath. He held his breath a couple times, trying to slow it down to no prevail. He glanced at his watch. He was forty-three minutes late to the lunch date. He was going to get it. He would take on a serial murderer or a gang boss any day over trying to placate the two Exalt sisters. Lissa would nag until his ears threatened to fall off. She would then text him nonstop every hour for three days prior to their next family lunch. But it wasn't Lissa that was the terrifying one. It was Emm. She appeared to have a flawless façade of calm and serenity, but the way she dealt with him was worse. Emm would be understanding to the point of being ridiculous. Then she would remind him gently that he needs to make a better effort to keep in touch with his family, since all they had left were each other. The guilt he felt when Emm did that was worse than Lissa.

"Hey, guys!" Chrom arrived at their table. It was the one near the corner with the two huge windows that invited the sunshine in. He took at seat. "I'm so sorry."

Lissa had her arms crossed and had her eyes narrowed at him. Emmeryn smiled sweetly and sipped her tea.

"Chrom! Why are you always so late?" Lissa huffed. "We waited forever! My students return from recess and lunch faster than you!"

"Lissa, I'm sure he has a good reason," Emmeryn patted Lissa's clenched hand. Emmeryn turned her head with an expecting face.

"I lost track of time," he admitted.

"I called you twelve times," Lissa waved her phone with the call history glaring on the screen at him. He saw his name one after the other with a red telephone symbol.

"I hope everything's okay," Emmeryn's face softened in concern.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about," Chrom shook his head. "Have you guys ordered?" He turned around and looked for a waiter or waitress.

"Not yet," Emmeryn answered.

"It's nice," Chrom's eyes wandered around the bakery café. "I haven't been here before."

Amelie's Bakery had a warm, welcoming aura to it. The back of the café had glass displays of glorious cakes and baked goodies. The dining area of the café was set up with lovely rustic tables and matching wooden chairs with intricate backs fashioned from a dusty silver metal. It had a very Plegian touch to it.

Then suddenly, flashes of the van that was bombed kept flooding his mind. The words 'Amelie's Bakery' swam in his head.

"Chrom, we've already decided what we want," Emmeryn brought his attention back to the present. "Take a look at the menu and decide what you want."

"I'm starving, Emm!" Lissa whined. Even if she was in her early twenties, she was still the youngest and behaved so, especially when she was in front of the older Exalt siblings.

"Chrom will be quick, won't you?" Emmeryn turned to Chrom, who again, appeared lost in thought. "I think the special would be a good option," Emmeryn suggested.

"Yeah, sure," Chrom's eyebrows gathered towards each other in thought. He wasn't even listening to Emmeryn anymore. If he remembered correctly, Sully had investigated Amelie's Bakery after their last meeting about the bombing. Unfortunately, they couldn't find any connections and they had no records on delivery. But it was easy to _not_ write down a delivery.

"We'll get the lunch special, the deluxe croissant sandwich, and sponge cheesecake," Emmeryn ordered as she pointed to the menu to the waitress.

"Anything else?" the waitress asked.

"No, that's all," Emmeryn smiled politely. "Thank you."

"He's doing it again," Lissa sighed. Emmeryn glanced over at Chrom who had his arms crossed and his head bowed with a serious frown. "He daydreams more than a preteen girl."

"Oh, Lissa. Be nicer to your older brother," Emmeryn softly said.

"Chrom," Lissa waved his hand in front of his face. It didn't elicit a response. "Emm, he always does this," Lissa whined.

"Chrom," Emmeryn tapped him on his shoulder.

"Sorry, I'm here," Chrom snapped out of his trance. "What'd I miss?"

Emmeryn said gently with concern emphasized in each word. "You're working too hard again."

"No, I'm not," Chrom protested. He paused and then added proudly, "I went out yesterday."

"Oh?" Lissa cocked her head to the side curiously. "Where?"

"I went to the Reeking Box with Vaike," Chrom answered. "Oh, shit. I was supposed to pay for drinks last night. And I left him." Chrom checked his phone for angry texts. Apparently the Vaikenator wasn't up yet.

Emmeryn laughed softly. "Did you have fun?"

"No," Chrom flatly said. "But I did meet someone at The Shepherds afterwards."

"Oh?" Lissa leaned in intrigued. "A lady friend?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Why are you doing that, Lissa?" Chrom inched away from the younger sister.

"Well, who did you meet?" Emmeryn nudged. She was curious herself.

"I met Robin," Chrom answered carefully.

"That could be a man or a woman," Lissa sighed. "Emm, it was probably a man, knowing Chrom. A detective or something, helping him with another case," Lissa groaned disappointingly.

"Actually, she's the doctor who stitched me up," Chrom corrected. "…last time," he murmured quietly, remembering how upset his sisters had gotten over that incident.

"She?" they both echoed in unison.

"Oooh! It's a lady doctor!" Lissa excitedly clapped.

"There's nothing going on, guys," Chrom denied.

"Your smile says otherwise," Emmeryn smiled at Chrom. Chrom hadn't noticed he was smiling.

"When do we get to meet her?" Lissa demanded.

"There's nothing going on. We just happened to run into each other," Chrom reinforced that Robin and Chrom were not a 'thing'. "Besides, I have a lot of things going on at work. And if Emm can use that excuse to not find herself a boyfriend, I think it's fair game for me."

"I came up with your couple's name: Chrobin!" Lissa completely ignored what her brother was saying.

"Well…" Emmeryn dropped eyes to the table and a pink tinge dusted her cheeks. Chrom's eyes slightly widened. Lissa also stared at Emmeryn in surprise too.

"Who is it?" Lissa gasped excitedly at Emmeryn.

"Oh, you two won't let me hear the end of it," Emmeryn shyly buried her face into her hands.

"Tell us!" Lissa couldn't contain herself.

"Come on, Emm!" Chrom beamed at her sister.

"Frederick and I started seeing each other," Emmeryn confessed quietly. It was so unbefitting of the confident, calm eldest Exalt.

"Yes!" Lissa and Chrom high-fived each other.

"Huh?" Emmeryn raised both eyebrows in question.

"It's finally happened!" Lissa giggled to Chrom.

"Took them long enough," Chrom agreed.

"What's going on, you two," Emmeryn gave them a stern motherly look.

"Oh, y'know. We've been shipping you two for, I don't know, how long, Chrom?" Lissa looked to her brother.

"Ever since you could talk, Lissa," Chrom smirked.

It was the truth. Lissa and Chrom would always tease Emmeryn and Frederick whenever they were together saying they should get married ever since they were kids. Lissa did it more vocally, but Chrom secretly also thought they made the perfect couple.

"We're so happy for you!" Lissa exclaimed. At this point, the other people in the bakery were staring at the three.

"About time," Chrom laughed

"I'm glad to hear you guys approve of us," Emmeryn laughed.

"Emm," Lissa started seriously, "You guys were made for each other."

"I agree with Lissa on this one," Chrom nodded.

"Well, anyway, back to the main topic at hand. Since I'm seeing someone now _and_ working, you can't use that excuse anymore," Emmeryn grinned proudly at Chrom.

Chrom opened his mouth to protest but had nothing. The pinnacle of his argument had been taken away.

"On a more serious note, I know Mom and Dad's death had a huge impact on you, but you don't have to try to take the burden of the world by yourself," Emmeryn placed a hand on top of Chrom's hand. "You deserve to be happy. You work harder than anyone I know. Take it easy and enjoy the little things in life."

"Emm," Chrom quietly said.

"Mom and Dad would've wanted you to do things that make you happy, Chrom," Emmeryn continued.

"Yeah," Chrom swallowed at the mention of their parents.

"Gods, Chrom, Emm is saying go ask Robin out," Lissa rolled her eyes at her dense brother and translated on Emmeryn's behalf. "And to stop being a workaholic," she added the deemed less important detail.

"Huh?" he asked, making eye contact with Emmeryn. Emmeryn simply kindly smiled at him.

"I'd like to meet the lucky lady who has managed to catch the eye of our workaholic brother," Emmeryn teased.

"Guys, I don't know," Chrom blushed.

"Oh, come on!" Lissa laughed.

"Keep us updated," Emmeryn agreed with Lissa.

Once the food arrived, the Exalt siblings quietly ate and conversed during their biweekly rendezvous. Chrom and Lissa took turns grilling Emmeryn on her budding relationship with Frederick. Lissa talked about her grade three's at school. Chrom didn't contribute much of his own personal life. He couldn't share much about work since it was confidential and well, he didn't have much of a personal life. After lunch, they ordered madeleines and snacked on them over coffee and tea. It was Chrom's day off anyway, so he decided he would leisurely enjoy it.

"So, when do you see her next?" Lissa asked.

"See who?" Chrom sipped his coffee.

"Robin, of course!" Lissa gave an exasperated cry. He was so oblivious at times.

"I don't know," Chrom confessed. "I don't really have her contact info and it would make me a creep and it would be ethnically wrong if I used the police database to search for her."

"I agree with you on that one," Emmeryn laughed gently.

"Do you know anyone who might know her?" Lissa asked. She was going to set these two up even if her life depended on it. Chrom _never_ looked at women twice. And Lissa had seen her fair share of women try to throw themselves at her older brother. She didn't quite understand what made him charming though. In her eyes, he was an absolute dork. So to hear that he was interested in someone was huge. Chrobin was going to happen.

"Actually Maribelle works with her at the hospital," Chrom bit into a madeleine.

"Oh!" Lissa whipped out her phone. "I have your back. This is much easier than I thought it would be. Why didn't you mention that earlier?" She started to frantically text someone on her phone. Plan B was to coerce Chrom to use the police database and mess with his moral compass. She would've done so by guilt tripping him with every mistake he made against the Exalt sisters and his responsibility the Exalt family to pass on his genetics and the family name.

"Lissa, what are you doing?" Chrom raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Maribelle owes me a favour for setting her up with Stahl," Lissa began, "So, I'm using that favour." Her phone pinged. "Mmm, she doesn't seem to be too willing to give it away."

"Why?" Chrom couldn't help but be intrigued. He leaned in trying to earn a glimpse of Lissa's phone screen.

"She thinks he's an annoying…oh, mmm, not going to say that word…She would kill me if I gave her phone number away," Lissa read out loud slowly.

"What's she like?" Emmeryn quickly interjected seeing the defeat in Chrom.

Chrom thought for a moment. What really described Robin well? They didn't really know each other that well yet, but there were two words that immediately came to mind, "Intense and straightforward."

"Oh," Emmeryn nodded.

Beside them, Lissa kept coaxing Maribelle to surrender Robin's number. "Chrom, is there anything that could help me persuade Maribelle?"

"Hmm…she has my blazer!" he excitedly yelled. "Wait, but I'm pretty sure she could come find me at the station for that. And it's not worth much."

"I can work with that," Lissa nodded. Lissa was the best at negotiating out of the three, since she had to do it every weekday. With children. Negotiating can't get more difficult than striking a deal with a class of cranky grade threes at the end of a day to do their reading for thirty minutes for a game before going home. "Okay!" Both Chrom and Emmeryn looked to Lissa for good news. "You owe me big time, Big Brother," Lissa grinned. "I just texted it to you."

"Are you serious?" Chrom asked in disbelief. Soon, his phone beeped to notify him of a text message. Chrom swiped his screen and added it into his contacts. "Wait, isn't this kinda creepy?"

"What's creepy about it?" Emmeryn asked. "You're simply asking for your blazer back."

"Okay." That's all that Chrom needed to be persuaded that this was completely okay.

"Text her," Lissa ordered in an excited high-pitched squeal.

"Okay, what should I say?" Chrom asked for his sisters' help.

"A 'hello' would be nice," Emmeryn suggested.

"No, something better," Lissa pondered out loud. "You guys ate together last night, right?"

"Yeah," Chrom confirmed. "I don't know how much she remembers. I'm fairly certain that Robin had too much to drink."

"How about 'How's your head feeling?'" Lissa suggested.

"You could also thank her for keeping you company last night," Emmeryn added.

"Those are great suggestions," Chrom fiddled with his phone for a moment. "You know what? I'm going to combine those two. Thanks, Lissa. Thanks, Emm."

"I think it'll be good for you," Emmeryn smiled. "The last relationship you had was with Sumia, right?"

"Yeah, when I was in Police Academy," Chrom answered.

"It's been a while since Big Brother has played the field," Lissa nudged. "Good luck!"

After orchestrating and approving the perfect first text message with his sisters, Chrom sent it. They all agreed it was nothing short of perfection. Nothing could go wrong.

* * *

Robin was still lying on the couch after lunch with Lon'qu working on his laptop. She listened to the sound of his fingers type against the keyboard. Sometimes there were momentary pauses and then clicking of the trackpad.

"Are you going to lie there all day?" Lon'qu inquired.

"Yeah," Robin answered. "Everyone's recovering from last night. Phila texted me a while back and told me. Apparently, she lost a shoe? Everyone's crashed at Phila's right now. So no one's going out. They even decided to order in for breakfast. Luckily for me, I have you." Robin's phone went off again as she spoke to Lon'qu. "Oh, I got another text."

Robin tapped in her password and squinted at the number. It was unfamiliar. Then she read the message.

"What the hell?"

Speechlessly, she stared at the message and read it over and over again in her head. There were two winky emoticons. Two! What the hell did she do? Was there more that she couldn't remember?

"Lon'qu?" Robin called him.

"Yes?" Lon'qu answered.

"How much…No, wait…Did I do anything I would've regretted last night?" Robin cautiously asked. "Like did I look like I was drugged? Or I may have…serviced someone…in a filthy bathroom stall?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?" Lon'qu frowned at her.

"Nothing...nothing…just checking."

Robin read the message once more time. Who in the Gods' names was this crazy person? She never gave her number out…or did she?

 _Hey, Robin! Hope your head is feeling better ;) Thanks for a good time last night. ;) Hope to do it again with you some time._

Spam. It had to be spam.

* * *

"Are you sure I shouldn't have used 'great' rather than 'good'?" A good twenty minutes passed and the Exalt siblings were getting ready to leave the bakery café.

"No, it makes it sound like you're…y'know…implying something," Lissa murmured under her breath.

"You might not want to come off as too desperate if you use 'great' too," Emmeryn supported Lissa.

"Okay, well, you two probably know more than me, seeing how you two are women," Chrom nodded. Then his phone went off. They all excited awaited the response. Chrom's shoulders dropped after realizing who the text message was from. "It's Vaike. He's up now. I owe him money for the drinks I didn't pay for yesterday night. Gods, who pays 458 G for drinks?!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I think there are no grammatical and spelling errors. *crosses fingers*

I hope that it was amusing to read. :P I do have half of the next chapter written, so maybe I'll be able to make a post on Friday! Let me know what you thought via reviews or PMs. I love hearing from peeps.

Also, I think it's super cool that people around the world are reading this. Hello to everyone outside of Canada!

Until, then~


	9. One Step Forward, Ten Steps Backward

**Author's Note:** OMG, I can't believe I made my Friday deadline! o_o

Hello to my regulars and hello to my new readers! Welcome back to another chapter. :3

* * *

 **Chapter 9: One Step Forward, Ten Steps Backward**

Chrom groaned in boredom on his couch. He lazily watched second hand on his clock tick endless laps around the face. He swore brain cells were rotting by sitting there and doing nothing. There was nothing interesting on TV, he had already cleaned his house, and worked out. There was still a good couple hours before having to meet up at the headquarters for training with Basilio.

Chrom hated Sundays.

He would much rather be investigating and doing his job. However, Frederick threatened him again. This time the threat was tattling to Emmeryn and forcing him to take his paid vacation days. The worst. What would he do with all the free time? Probably die because he brain would atrophy from boredom.

Then it dawned on him. He didn't really have a hobby aside from work. He lived and breathed his career. He did have friends at work. In fact, he worked with his closest friends. They had all gotten each other through Police Academy, including Vaike, even if he was annoying at times. But Chrom had kind of grew distant from them over the recent years.

He was dying. Of boredom.

He wondered what Robin was up to. Was she working herself mercilessly on Sunday?

She never got back to him after he texted her. Emmeryn and Lissa reassured him that she was probably just playing hard to get or feeling too shy or sick to respond straight away. It didn't alleviate how antsy he felt the night before. Every time his phone went off, he would climax in anticipation and then crash in disappointment.

Chrom played with his cellphone in his hand. Maybe he'd text her again…

He tapped his screen a couple times and opened Robin's conversation. He stared at it.

 _Hey, Robin! Hope your head is feeling better ;) Thanks for a good time last night. ;) Hope to do it again with you some time._

What should he text this time? He didn't have the wisdom of his sisters. But then again, maybe their input didn't seem to have helped seeing the lack of response. He would wing it.

He began to type and then paused. He erased everything he had written by rapidly tapping the backspace. No, that wasn't a good conversation opener. Then he began to type all over again. Then he erased everything again. This was proving to be more difficult than he thought.

"Just be yourself," Chrom told himself. "Yeah."

Carefully, he strung words together for a best conversation opener he could think of. Chrom read it and smiled. He tapped the 'Send' button.

* * *

"You're kidding," Phila stated.

"No, I'm dead serious," Robin laughed at Phila. "I totally got scouted as an elite prostitute Friday night."

"That is too funny!" Phila snickered. "You?"

"Okay, now you're just hurting my feelings," Robin giggled, pretending to be hurt.

"I'm sorry, Robin, but you're the one doesn't want to come out for a coffee with me when I'm in the area because and I quote this: it involves putting real pants on, so no," Phila shook her head.

"Yeah, yeah," Robin brushed Phila off. "You were out cold yesterday."

"Yeah," Phila agreed. She reached for her cup of coffee on the table. Before taking a drink, she inhaled it and closed her eyes. "Mmm, love my new espresso maker."

"You shouldn't have so much coffee. Too much of one thing isn't good for you," Robin lectured.

"I only have five cups, okay?" Phila defended herself.

"That's still a lot, Phila. We're not even working right now," Robin sank into Phila's sofa. She always liked going over to Phila's place. It wasn't the largest apartment, but it was a quaint place a couple blocks away from downtown. It was constructed from red bricks and had a classic feel to it.

Their momentary silence was broken by Robin's phone announcing that she had received a text.

Robin reached for her phone. She tapped in her password and frowned at the number. It was the spam texter.

"What is it?" Phila asked.

"I don't know…I thought it was spam initially, but now I think it's a stalker," Robin said slowly.

"What do you mean?" Phila tried to get more details.

"Well, the first text was 'Hey, Robin! Hope your head is feeling better. Winky face. Thanks for a good time last night. Winky face. Hope to do it again with you some time.'," Robin read out loud.

Phila stifled a laugh, "What did you do after you left us?"

"Nothing!" Robin protested. "I just went to The Shepherds!"

"Mmhmm," Phila responded in a tone was nothing short of not believing Robin's words.

"No, really. I don't give my number out. I'm pretty sure it's spam," Robin concluded.

"Well, usually spam doesn't usually include your first name," Phila poked holes into her theory.

"Gods, then who is it?" Robin grumbled.

"You never asked?" Phila yawned through her words. "See? I'm sleepy, I need more coffee."

"Shut up, Phila. You are _not_ sleepy, coffee addict," Robin rolled her eyes. Phila grinned at her.

"Well, what's the new text?" Phila asked.

"Hey, Robin, thanks for taking care of me. Let me know how I can repay you," Robin read out the new text. "With a smiley face at the end."

"See? Not spam. _Someone_ addressed you by name. Twice," Phila held up two fingers. "So, uh, how'd you take care of this person?" Phila smirked.

"Phila, stop it!" Robin was becoming flustered. All she remembered was Chrom and the group of creepy people.

Robin couldn't help but feel suspicious. There was a reason why she didn't give her number out to strangers. For all she knew, it could be someone wanting to hurt her and compromise her position. Perhaps this stranger was trying to trick her into thinking she owed them something.

"Just ask who it is," Phila laid her head down on the couch.

"But I don't really want to talk to them," Robin made a face.

"You're not even curious?" Phila raised an eyebrow.

"Not really. Curiosity killed the cat," said Robin.

"Satisfaction brought it back," Phila retorted back. "Just ask who it is."

Robin's intuition was telling her to stay away, but her curiosity did tug at her.

"Oh my Gods," Phila rolled off the couch and like an assassin, snatched the phone from Robin.

"Phila!" Robin chased after her.

Phila fended off Robin like a pro. She had the height as an advantage and kept Robin at bay by pushing her away with her hips. "Who…am…I…speaking…to? Sent! You're welcome!"

"You're insufferable," Robin managed to snatch the phone and bitterly stared at her phone. "If I get murdered in the next three days, it's on you."

"Stop being dramatic," Phila went back to her seat. Her cat crawled out of nowhere and settled on her chest. "Hey, cat, you snugglebug," Phila cooed at the overweight fluff ball.

* * *

The phone was lying with its screen facing up on the coffee table in front of Chrom. He was leaning against his elbows on his legs with his fingers intertwined. He glanced at the clock above the TV. Roughly fifteen minutes passed.

 _Ping!_

Chrom's almost jumped up. "Yes!" He snatched the phone off the tabletop and swiped it.

 _Who am I speaking to?_

Oh. She had no idea it was him. No, wait. That made sense. He had never introduced himself! She probably thought he was some creep all this time.

 _It's Chrom,_ he texted. Sent! It was all cleared up now. There was hope.

* * *

"Robin, stop looking so anxious," Phila pet her cat. "You're making Peggy anxious."

Robin's phone went off. Robin let out a small yelp and dropped it.

"I swear, if this is a guy who's into you, I officially dub thee the worst person to pursue in all of Halidom," Phila rolled her eyes. Robin picked up the phone. Phila studied Robin's face grow redder by the second. "Oh my Gods. It is a man!"

"I…I…" Robin stared at the two words. "But how…"

 _It's Chrom_.

"Who is it?" Phila demanded excitedly, shoving her cat off her chest in the process.

"It's the cop," Robin said quietly.

"The one who gave you the tickets? The one who stalked you? Who? Who? Spit it out!" Phila impatiently interrogated.

"Stalker one," Robin felt her heart beating uncontrollably in her chest.

"Okay, we can work with this," Phila said to herself. "Maybe 'stalker' is harsh. How about 'persistent'? It's easier to make him appear attractive then."

"What do you mean 'we'?" Robin glared at her friend.

"Robin," Phila said seriously. "I love you. You're one of my closest friends. But we need to get you laid. Or just have _someone_ dote on you. Cuddles do wonders."

"I can't believe you just said that," Robin's mouth dropped open.

"Robin, we all need a bit of love," Phila smiled sincerely at her.

"I have no idea how he got my number," Robin glowered at her phone.

"Who cares?" Phila shrugged. "Wait, did you two meet again after the bike incident?"

"We met each other at The Shepherds after I left you guys," Robin confessed.

"You left that out tidbit!" Phila accused.

"He was more of seat filler because creeps kept trying to pick me up," Robin murmured. "He wasn't worth mentioning." Robin had hoped if she didn't acknowledge he existed, she would eventually forget him. He had been tormenting her for the last twenty-four hours in her thoughts. The blazer hanging on her closet door didn't help either.

"How do you know he wasn't trying to pick you up too?" Phila scoffed.

"He's not like that," Robin defended him. She was surprised how she blurted that out.

"Oh, really?" Phila smirked.

"He may be…" Robin bit her lip. "…an awkward dork. But he's a gentleman. He lent me his jacket because I was cold and helped me up when I fell off my stool."

Phila didn't say a single word. Her face said it all. She was making _the eyes_ at Robin.

"I don't like the look in your eyes," Robin darkly muttered.

"We have a lot of work to do," Phila stood up and cracked her neck.

"But I don't want him," Robin shook her head with a terrified look. "I can't want him." It went against everything. He epitomized justice to a tee and she was trying to atone for all the sins in her life.

"I'm not saying you _have_ be a thing with him. From my experience from dating both sexes, men just don't give out their jackets to strangers," Phila planted her hands on Robin's shoulders. "He's into you. And it looks like you are too. I don't know what kind of crap you're carrying on your shoulder—"

Robin opened her mouth to protest but was silenced by Phila.

"Ah! No. No arguing with me. Don't lie to me. I've known you for years now. Don't deny it. You have _something_ going on. But I get it. Some things just can't be shared," Phila smiled sympathetically. "But remember this, Robin. Whatever you're putting up with, you do deserve to be happy too. Now, you hand me your phone and I commandeer it or we do this together."

* * *

Chrom was clutching to his phone tightly. He hadn't felt this kind of rush except on chases and raids. She hadn't said anything in a while now. Maybe she really did dislike him. His creeping disappointment was dashed by the new message.

 _Sorry, I had no idea it was you. I thought it was spam lol_

Spam. She thought he was _spam_. He wanted to hide under a rock. That was it. Maybe Emm and Lissa didn't always have the best advice…

 _Haha, that's okay. How're you doing on this fine Sunday afternoon?_

Chrom couldn't hold in his excitement. He was becoming incredibly fidgety.

 _Fine. Hanging out with a friend. You?_

He was lazing around in his apartment intensely pushing his brain to not mess this up. But he couldn't say that.

* * *

"See? It's not that bad," Phila was having way too much fun.

"Yeah, I guess," Robin agreed.

The two friends stared at the phone conversation, waiting for a response.

"Hmm, it's taking him a while," Phila noted.

His message came in.

 _Working on my hobby_

"Hobby?" Robin blinked at it.

Phila snorted back a laugh. She was enjoying two idiots trying to converse.

"Here, let me text this time," Phila took the phone from Robin.

* * *

Robin's next text came in. They couldn't come in faster for Chrom.

 _Neat. What's your hobby?_

Gods, this woman always caught him off guard. She unnerved him so much that he could never think a couple steps ahead.

Okay, Chrom. Hobby. What is your hobby, he asked himself. Well, he did always want to play acoustic guitar. It was official. Starting today, he played acoustic guitar.

* * *

 _Guitar. Do you have any hobbies?_

"Ooh!" Phila nudged Robin. "He plays guitar. Maybe he'll serenade you."

"Yeah," Robin uneasily chuckled.

"Okay, hobbies. I think your hobby is 'work'," Phila wished she was joking, but she didn't think Robin had any other skills besides work.

"Hey! I have hobbies," Robin elbowed Phila.

"Ow! Okay, what?" Phila waited.

"I'm actually a really good pole dancer," Robin beamed.

"Robin…" Phila grimaced.

"No, really, I swear. Next time I'm sober, and not wearing something that can flash everyone, I'll show you," Robin promised.

"I don't think that's the best thing to text back," Phila slowly explained. "You might as well text back 'I like to strip'. Okay, that's not the worst thing you could be doing, but still."

"Oh. Right. Ylisseans associate pole-dancing with strippers and prostitutes, right?" Robin nodded.

"Yeah," Phila confirmed. "It's a legitimate dance sport in Plegia, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Robin tried to think of another hobby. "It's actually the best workout you'll ever get."

"I believe you," Phila patted Robin on the shoulder.

"And what's wrong with being a stripper?" Robin demanded defensively. "I love lingerie. And dancing. So why not both?"

Phila sighed, "Sometimes I wonder how we're friends."

Robin snickered at Phila's exasperated state. "Well, I learned how to play Fire Emblem as a kid. Does that count as a hobby?"

"The strategy board game that almost everyone knows how to play?" Phila raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, look. Everyone may _know_ how to _play_ it. But that doesn't mean they're actually _good_ at it," Robin huffed.

"Okay, dork," Phila shook her head at her friend.

* * *

 _I'm too busy for hobbies. The hospital takes up most of my time._

Chrom read the text. Gods! He could've just said that he was just relaxing at home. Why did he decide to learn guitar now? He didn't have time! What if she asked him to play for her? Damn it.

Another text came in. _I still have your blazer. I'll return it after I get it dry cleaned._

Quickly, he texted back. _Don't worry about getting it cleaned. It wasn't worth much anyway._

* * *

"So apparently, I don't need to return his blazer because it was cheap," Robin muttered.

"Nah, he's trying to make you feel better," Phila reassured.

Then the next text made them both go silent.

 _We should mate sometime._

"And you were _so sure_ about this," Robin gave Phila, who was dying from laughter, a terribly, unamused look.

Then Robin's phone went off in succession several times.

 _Gods! I meant meet**_

 _MEET** NOT MATE_

 _STUPID PHONE JUST CORRECTED THE WORD, I SWEAR_

"I c-can't," Phila continued to hold her sides as Robin wore a blush and sat in a shocked silence.

 _We should MEET** sometime so I can get my blazer back_

"Okay, I'm done," Robin threw the phone on the coffee table and held both hands in the air. "No more. I told you this was an awful idea!"

"H-he…wants to…to…to…mate!" Phila gasped between her cackles. She fell off the couch onto the ground with a heavy thunk. "Not...f-fuck...but mate!"

* * *

"Chrom!" roared a deep voice. Basilio had his arms crossed at the corner of the combative room. "Where is your focus? You're getting your ass whipped!"

Kellam had just thrown Chrom over his shoulder and he had landed with a painful thud. Sumia winced from the sidelines. Frederick sighed and rubbed his temples.

 _We should mate sometime._

The words stained his thoughts. He literally went one step forward and went not two, but ten steps backwards with one text.

"Sorry, sir!" Chrom pushed himself away from the ground and bounced back onto his feet. He gave his shoulder a crude rotation. He greeted his teeth at the pain. That was going to bruise.

"Sorry," Kellam mouthed at Chrom.

"Don't show the enemy mercy!" Basilio roared.

"We're not done yet!" Chrom gave a battle cry as he charged towards Kellam with the fake knife.

How could he have made such a mistake? Robin hadn't said a word after that text.

Chrom attempted to stab Kellam, but he dodged it. Swiftly, Chrom threw the prop knife into the air, spun around Kellam, and caught it behind his back with the opposite hand. He poked Kellam a couple times on the back when he had the chance.

"That tickles," Kellam spluttered. Before Chrom could go for Kellam's neck, Basilio stopped them.

"Enough! Both of you. You think this is a joke? A real knife isn't going to _tickle_ ," Basilio growled. Basilio's aggressive demeanour was a well-known trademark when he trained his underlings. Otherwise, he was a pleasantly gruff person. Nevertheless, it never failed to intimidate the trainees.

"Yes, sir," Kellam bowed his head.

"I'm disappointed in everyone's condition," Basilio spat. Frederick's lip tightened into a thin line in the corner of the matted room. "We're taking ten," Basilio dismissed everyone. "After, Chrom, you're taking me on." Everyone except Chrom and Frederick nervously glanced at Basilio. Now he was _really_ going to get his ass whipped.

Basilio always picked someone at the end of the training session. It was usually someone who wanted to challenge him (which rarely happened and the Vaikenator learned that lesson thoroughly) or someone Basilio deemed needed to step their game up. Today, that was Chrom.

Chrom wiped the sweat from his forehead. He padded across the floor to his water bottle. Ungraciously, he plopped down and took a long drink. He let out a long breath. Chrom reached for his phone to check if Robin had texted back yet. Maybe she laughed it off by now. He hopefully swiped his phone screen. Nothing.

"Okay, break's over!" Basilio yelled. Chrom frowned at the time on his phone. It hadn't even been ten minutes. But 'Basilio' minutes did go by faster than normal people's times.

Everyone gathered around. All of his teammates felt bad for Chrom, but didn't say a word. They wordlessly sat down on the ground around the combative mat. Chrom took one more drink from his water bottle. He gathered his concentration and then abruptly bolted up onto his feet. He threw the bottle aside.

"Ready, sir!" Chrom ran over to the center of the mat to meet Basilio.

"I heard you got stabbed on the last raid," Basilio stated.

"Yes, sir," Chrom confirmed.

"You're lucky you got out of there alive," Basilio frowned.

"Yes, sir," Chrom responded.

"It's not always possible to pull out your gun when a potential attacker is close and has a hidden weapon. I'm going take the knife. Try to disarm me. Ready, Chrom?"

"Yes, sir," Chrom held up arms in a defensive stance.

Chrom inhaled and exhaled, anticipating Basilio's movements.

Suddenly, Basilio flew towards him, swiping the knife left and right. Chrom took two steps back, leaning back to avoid the knife. They brushed his bangs ever so slightly. If he hadn't dodged them, he would've lost his eyes.

"Disarm me, boy!" Basilio roared, lunging again. This time he went in with a hook with the knife.

Chrom confronted Basilio's weapon arm and diverted the force to the right using his forearm. The knife narrowly missed his cheek. Basilio quickly recovered and continued forward towards Chrom with a succession of jabs. He was moving too fast for Chrom to grab his wrist and disarm. The two danced together in coordination. Every time Basilio led forward, Chrom followed back.

Chrom thought if he tackled Basilio, he would end up being stabbed in the back. That was no help. Basilio was a lot larger than him, so using force was proving to be difficult. He would have to use his strength against him. In the next jab.

"Don't just stand there!" Basilio yelled. He closed the distance that Chrom had maintained during their fight, by feigning a stab, and then spinning around to get momentum. He was aiming to grab the back of Chrom's neck to take the advantage.

Chrom saw his opening. He grabbed Basilio's arm and used his momentum against him. Chrom threw himself back, landing on the matted floor, with his arm firmly gripped around Basilio's forearm. Simultaneously, he brought up his feet to plant them on Basilio's abdomen. Then, in a swift push, Chrom threw Basilio over with the weapon arm still in his grip. Chrom gave one last twist of Basilio's wrist when he landed above him on the floor to remove the weapon.

"Alright," Basilio laughed, lying on the floor with Chrom. "It's about time you got your head back."

"Sorry, sir," Chrom huffed in between breaths, his chest heaving up and down.

Someone from the corner of the room started to clap. Both men looked over and saw Sumia smiling pleasantly as she clapped. Basilio grinned and stood up. Slowly, everyone in the room joined in, even Frederick. The Feroxi man walked over to Ylissean lad and extended a hand.

"If I had back-up, you would be dead, Chrom," Basilio chuckled. "Try not to end up on your back. It leaves you defenseless."

"Got it," Chrom took Basilio's large hand. Effortlessly, Basilio pulled him up and gave him a firm pat on the back.

"Good effort," Basilio chuckled and walked away.

"That was impressive!" Cordelia ran up to Chrom.

"Yeah, I don't think I could've done that," Kellam agreed.

"Are you alright?" Sumia asked with a gentle smile.

"I'm fine, guys. It was beginner's luck," said Chrom.

* * *

Lon'qu had successfully made Robin promise she wouldn't leave the house. Either way, he couldn't come to her beck and call tonight. He was meeting someone important.

He parked the car and climbed out. The car honked a couple times when he pressed the lock button on the remote. The cool air was a nice welcome. It reminded him of the chilly weather of Regna Ferox. He pocketed the car keys and had one hand firmly wrapped around a black leather briefcase. In front of him stood a towering building. It had a roofed drive through in front of the brightly lit entrance. It was impossible to miss the elegant letters stamped on the top of the building and on the drive through roof: _The Speedwing_. A luxurious, five-star hotel.

Lon'qu crossed the street and headed towards The Speedwing. The gold-framed glass doors slid open giving him way into the building. He entered the lobby. His black soles clicked against the polished marble floor. The hotel was brightly lit with an avant-garde interior design. There were two parallel waterfall walls facing each other, guiding all visitors straight to the table. The furniture that was meticulously placed with purpose were hues of cerulean and white.

It had an obvious Ylissean touch to it. The Speedwing was modern, chic, and relaxing.

Lon'qu ignored the check-in table and headed straight for the elevators. He pressed the up button and watched the numbers countdown until it hit '1'. Luckily, he was alone, so he didn't have to share the elevator with anyone. Lon'qu hopped on and pressed the button with '13' on it. As the elevator moved, he glanced at his wristwatch. He still had a couple minutes.

Once the elevator arrived, it ringed and slid its doors open, allowing its content to leave its belly. Lon'qu stepped out and looked for the room 1314. He followed the signs and eventually made his way to Room 1314. He curled his fingers and knocked his knuckles on the white door twice.

"Coming!" hollered a deep voice from the other side. When the door opened, it revealed a dark man with an eye patch with no hair. He lacked a shirt and all his upper-body muscles were emphasized without effort. He was only wearing a pair of sweats.

"Sir," Lon'qu nodded once.

"It's been a while," Basilio moved aside and invited Lon'qu in.

"Training the Ylissean Police Department again, sir?" Lon'qu inquired.

"Yeah. There's this one guy, Chrom. I think he's going to rise through the ranks pretty far. He's fairly quick on his feet," Basilio said seriously.

Lon'qu frowned at the mention of the name.

"Know him, Lon'qu?" Basilio asked.

"I know of him, sir," Lon'qu answered stiffly. "I'm trying to minimize contact between him and us."

"Hmm," Basilio hummed. "Do you think he suspects anything?"

"No, I think he's taken an interest in Robin," Lon'qu admitted.

"Sit, sit," Basilio gestured to the two chairs near the window. Outside, both men could see the lively nightlife of Ylisstol down below. Lon'qu settled his briefcase on top of the table and sat down. "He's taken an interest in the Grima girl," Basilio said to himself. "That might be problematic."

"Yes, sir," Lon'qu confirmed.

"Will it compromise our plan?" Basilio sat down on the bed.

"About that, sir," Lon'qu made a tight face.

"What is it?" Basilio inquired.

"I need a leave of absence, sir," Lon'qu stated.

"Ke'ri?" Basilio guessed.

"Yes, sir," Lon'qu gave a curt nod.

"Another a surgery?" he asked.

Lon'qu sighed and nodded, "Sir."

Basilio laughed and walked over to Lon'qu. If he had been anyone else, they would've jumped, but he had grown accustomed to Basilio's outbursts. He patted Lon'qu on the back.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Basilio smiled sadly.

"No, sir," Lon'qu denied.

"You don't have to hide it from me," Basilio sat down in the other chair. "It's hard. Being far away from your only family in Chon'sin. You've started this job at such a young age. I fought Yen'fay to get my hands on you."

"I have all the reports and paper trails of the movements in Ylisse," Lon'qu pulled out his laptop from his briefcase, ignoring Basilio's sympathy. He also pulled out a glasses case. He opened it and slipped on his glasses. Lon'qu typed in a series of passwords before his laptop allowed him access into the files.

"All these years, I never asked, but what's the girl like?" Basilio handed Lon'qu a USB. Lon'qu took it and plugged it into the laptop.

"Robin, sir?" Lon'qu clarified.

"Yeah. She may play a significant role in all of this," Basilio sank into his chair.

"She's…" Lon'qu pondered for a moment, "considerate and tries to carry the burden of the crimes of Grima." He continued to scan and transfer the files to Basilio's USB.

Basilio roared with laughter. "That sounds hilarious and foreign, considering her father is mad. Brilliant, but mad. It's almost sounds like you care for her," Basilio tastelessly added

Lon'qu stiffened at Basilio and grimaced.

"Still having problems with being around ladies?" Basilio chuckled.

Lon'qu dropped a question, fully knowing what kind of effect it would have on Basilio. "Sir, how is Co-Director Flavia doing?" Lon'qu would've referred to her as Co-Director Khan, but Basilio and Flavia shared the same title and last name.

Basilio tensed and the blood ran from his face. "Y'know how that woman is."

Lon'qu grunted at his response. He made the finishing touches and then ejected the USB. "Don't make any sudden moves yet. They'll know if we're up to something. I don't think anyone is suspicious of me yet, but I don't want to risk blowing my cover. We still need to allow Grima to fester a bit longer, even if it means more people will be hurt. They're almost in a full circle. Ylisse is the last country."

Basilio became serious once more. It was more befitting of the Co-Director of the Regna Ferox Intelligence Agency. "Did you run the logistics?"

"Yes, sir. It would be detrimental for us to move now. The Ylissean Police Force are still behind on piecing everything together, but it's only a matter of time. I should be back in Ylisse before anything significant happens," Lon'qu closed his laptop and returned his glasses back into its case.

"How much time do you need off, Lon'qu?" Basilio talked business.

"Six months," Lon'qu answered.

"That's a long time," Basilio stated hesitantly. "You're the best agent I have on the field right now for this case. How do you think your employer will react?"

Lon'qu didn't answer immediately. He had run the different possibilities of what could happen in his head already. He offered Basilio the most likely one. "They'll most likely send Priam to keep an eye on Robin and tighten up the loose ends in Ylisse."

"I see," Basilio stroked his chin.

"The only thing I can't predict is how much longer Robin has in Ylisse before she's called back," Lon'qu paused. "It'll be more difficult for me to fulfill my duties to you if I'm under scrutiny. It was luck that I was assigned to Robin and sent to Ylisse. Once I'm back in Plegia, it's back to bloodshed…and the damned heat."

"I'm aware," Basilio crossed his arm. "Well, we can just hope for the best," Basilio chuckled.

Sometimes, it bothered Lon'qu how easygoing Basilio was about this. Lives were at stake here, and he thought that just leaving it and hoping for the best was enough. Lon'qu frowned irritably at his superior. He was breaking multiple laws in several countries, doing what was demanded by him by his 'employer' and Basilio. And all Basilio could offer was "let's hope for the best". It was unjustifyng and unsatisfying to hear.

"Lon'qu, relax," Basilio had a certain glint in his eyes. "We've been working on this case for over a decade now. Another year isn't going to make the biggest difference in the world. Son, you only entered the underground warzone midway. Just trust me. I know what I'm doing," Basilio strode off, leaving Lon'qu.

"Yes, sir," Lon'qu lowered his gaze to the floor.

"Frederick gave me this nice bottle of cognac," Basilio returned with an elegant, curvy bottle in one hand and two glasses carefully balanced in between his fingers in the other hand. "We're done talking work, so relax," Basilio gave Lon'qu permission to drop formal pretenses that usually came with their jobs.

"I can't drink. I need to drive home. Sir, how exactly did you escape Director Flavia?" Basilio and Flavia were infamous for having the 'fight-to-the-death' spars on deciding who would get to leave their bureaucratic job to go abroad for training sessions with other police forces around the world. Neither of the two liked paperwork. "And why didn't you send Raimi? She's the one I usually meet," Lon'qu moved his briefcase to the floor.

"I escaped," Basilio laughed. "And Raimi is in Chon'sin investigating something else."

"You what?" Lon'qu sighed.

"Escaped," Basilio repeated. "And I wanted to see how you were holding up."

"If this job doesn't kill you first, your Director Flavia will," Lon'qu grunted.

"I'd rather have her out of the public's eye, in case they figure out her identity and position," Basilio grinned sadly and opened the cognac. The two men silently watched the liquid amber mold into the glasses.

"You're in the same position, sir," Lon'qu pointed out the obvious.

"It's different. I don't know what I'd do if I were to lose her," Basilio pushed Lon'qu a glass.

"She probably feels the same way," Lon'qu stated.

"Don't tell her I said this, because she'll never let me live it down. But she's much stronger than I am. And she does a much better job running the works than when I'm the one left behind," Basilio laughed loudly.

Lon'qu didn't say anything. He watched Basilio take a drink out of his glass.

"Where does she think you are at this moment?" Lon'qu asked.

Basilio pulled out his phone and squinted at it with his one good eye. "At the gym. Well, that's what I texted her. We've just been playing tag, y'see. Except this time, I'm not in Regna Ferox. It's only a matter of time before she realizes that I'm not in the country."

At times, Lon'qu was at a loss of words when Basilio spilled his little secrets. Lon'qu had witnessed Flavia's wrath directed at Basilio before. It was only then did he finally understand why Basilio did everything Flavia said when they were outside of the Intelligence Agency. Within the Intelligence Agency walls, they worked together like a flawless team, but outside of that, Basilio would tease Flavia mercilessly with his silly jokes. They also bickered like an old married couple. Then again, Lon'qu recalled that they bickered like an old married couple before and after their wedding (which an absolute drunktank gongshow by the end of the night). Lon'qu had been groped by almost every bridesmaid of Flavia's. One of them being a man.

"She has a soft spot for you," said Basilio. "Flavia's quite fond of you."

Lon'qu merely nodded without a word to offer. Compliments and praise was something that made him uncomfortable. He didn't know how to react to them. He was doing his job. Lon'qu believed that being acknowledged for doing what you're supposed to do would lead to laziness and entitled expectations.

"She wants to meet whoever you end up settling down with," Basilio chuckled. "Nosy old woman," he scoffed. "But she's my nosy old woman," he added softly.

Lon'qu shifted in his seat. Settling down. A foreign concept he never considered.

"When are you going to need your leave of absence?" Basilio inquired. He had moved onto the second glass, since Lon'qu had refused because he needed to drive.

"I apologize for the rush, but in two weeks time, sir," answered Lon'qu.

Basilio let out a huff. "Well, I promised you and Yen'fay that if Ke'ri is involved, that I'll let you do what you need to. Take your six months."

"Thank you, sir," said Lon'qu. "It doesn't have to be a paid leave of absence."

"Nonsense. You'll be paid while you're gone," Basilio shook his head. "I trust that you know what you're doing."

"I hope so, sir," Lon'qu unconfidently uttered.

* * *

Robin had snuggled up in her bed with a book and cup of tea. Occasionally, she reached for her tea and brought it to her lips with her eyes still darting back and forth. Although she gave the illusion of reading, she had read the same paragraph at least seven times now. She let out a sigh and put her book down. Robin dog-eared the page she was stuck on and closed the book. It fell onto her lap.

Robin bit her lip and contemplated her thoughts for a moment before reaching for her phone. She tapped in her password and went into 'Messages'. Then she tapped 'Police Stalker'.

 _We should MEET** sometime so I can get my blazer back_

The last text message of their conversation.

Perhaps Robin was being…unreasonable. She wasn't very good at this whole 'flirting' thing. But apparently, Chrom sucked at it too.

She did have to return his blazer at some point. It wouldn't hurt anyone if they just met up, right?

Robin took a deep breath and typed in a message. After she was done composing it, she squeezed her eyes shut, held the phone as far away as she could from herself, and pressed 'Send'.

* * *

Chrom blinked in the dark, waiting for sleep to consume him. Sleep was doing a pretty crappy job tonight, because he had too many thoughts racing in his head. Beside him, his phone chimed. He rolled over under his blanket and reached for his phone.

He swiped in his password and saw that he had a message. It was probably Vaike again, asking for that ridiculously sum of money. Chrom had reminded him that banks were closed and that he wasn't bailing on their deal. After all, an Exalt always kept their word.

His eyes widened. It wasn't Vaike.

A contagious smile spread across his face. He was going to have to learn how to play guitar.

 _Does next Sunday work?_

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

So sad news.

I will be on hiatus until July due to some stuff going on. (Curse you, Life!) If I can squeeze in the time to write, I will and post a chapter when possible. So, if you don't want to have to constantly check for new updates because I'm torturing you with the possibility of a chapter, following will save you the agony. (And no, I'm not being a shameless self-promoter. I've gone through being a huge fan of a fanfic work that was updated every couple months before. It kinda sucked and I'd refresh the bookmark like crazy. Then I followed and it saved me the obsessing.)

But I promise, I'll be back!


	10. Hump Day

**Author's Note:** Hey, guys! I'm back. Thank you for patiently waiting for another chapter. I feel like this is more a bridging chapter, so please bear with me if you get bored.

Thank you for all the follows and reviews so far. I can't promise I'll make regular weekly posts, because I'm currently abroad visiting family for a couple months. But I do have a good idea of where the plot is going to go and I will continue to write.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Hump Day**

A concentrated frown crumpled Lon'qu's handsome face. He wore a grimace with narrowed eyes. His shoulders were tensed and arms crossed. As he had his gaze angled at the body in front of him, he felt the early chill of dawn breathing against his hot skin.

The girl's light brown hair was matted and limp against her pale cheeks. The revealing outfit she wore was riding up her thighs and was filthy. She was lying on her side in an awkward position, with her arms above her head and her legs sprawled to the side.

Great way to start hump day: Wednesday.

Lon'qu bent down and carefully balanced on his feet as he took a closer look at her legs. There were small red circles permanently tainting her porcelain skin. Cigarette burns.

"You see these?" Lon'qu pointed at the burns.

"Yeah? What about them?" Vincent still maintained his distance from the corpse.

"Cigarette burns," Lon'qu stood up.

"What do I do about the body?" Vincent asked anxiously.

"You're missing the point. It's the Chon'sin Triad," Lon'qu explained with a growing irritation. Lon'qu remembered Robin saying that the Grima Syndicate was expanding too quickly. He had expected some territorial disputes, but he didn't expect them to kill their girls to send a message.

"How do you know that?" questioned Vincent.

"It's a trademark," Lon'qu sighed, visibly losing patience with the man's lack of intuition. Vincent's response: a dumb look. "The Triad uses burn marks and cuts, usually made with a blade or a sword to mark their victims or enemies. In this case, cigarette burns."

"How do you know all of this?" Vincent eyed Lon'qu suspiciously. He was, after all, of Chon'sin descent.

The look Vincent gave Lon'qu didn't go amiss. "If you have a bone to pick with me. Out with it. But I want you to know this: I've been with this organization longer than you have. My word has more weight than yours," Lon'qu calmly stated.

Vincent remained quiet.

"Vincent, if you can't do your job, we're going to have to remove you from your position," Lon'qu said in a low voice. This wasn't the first time he'd fucked up.

The man stiffened. "What should I do with the body?" Vincent dug in his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. He pulled out a white stick and lit it with a lighter after a couple attempts.

"Take care of it," Lon'qu checked around his surroundings to make mental notes. It was too early in the morning for witnesses. They were playing with them. If they had meant to seriously start a war with the Grima Syndicate, the Triad would've dropped the body in broad daylight, in front of the Reeking Box.

"What?" Vincent spluttered, dropping his cigarette.

"I don't like repeating myself," Lon'qu said darkly. Sleep was weighing down his eyelids already. He had dropped Robin off at home only a couple hours ago. She had an emergency surgery and it had run later than their usual rendezvous time. And now, he was here, dealing with a dead Grima escort dumped at the back entrance of the Reeking Box.

"How?" Vincent was starting to lose his wits.

"Like how we _always_ take care of things," Lon'qu gritted his teeth. "Don't fuck this up." And he left.

* * *

A blue-haired man with no ounce of musical talent sat in the lunchroom of the Ylisstol Police Headquarters. He had the curved body of an old guitar nestled against his own and plucked her strings delicately. No matter how hard he tried, it kept making a _twang_ sound. When he attempted the chords he had tried to memorize the night before, they sounded like the guitar was vomiting sadness. Or maybe that was his imagination…since he did spend two nights at the HQ again.

"For the love of Naga," growled Sully as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "I swear to the Gods, Chrom, I swear! You play that guitar _one_ more time. I will end you," Sully smashed the cup on the floor angrily.

Chrom stopped. "I'm _trying_!" he protested. It wasn't his fault that all those childhood piano lessons went to waste. He just wasn't coordinated enough to play instruments. And begrudgingly, he needed to go home.

"Well, try harder! No. Just stop! Please," Sully begged. "Everyone else wants you to stop too."

"I don't think it's that bad," piped up a voice.

Chrom and Sully immediately looked around their surroundings. "Kellam!" they both said in surprise.

"You're like a ninja," Chrom grinned.

"Eugh," Sully wanted to punch something. "You need to stop creeping up on people!"

"But…" Kellam started, but then he stopped himself. "I wonder when people will notice me."

"Why are you in such a foul mood?" Chrom frowned at Sully after Kellam left.

"Your guitar playing is putting _everyone_ on edge. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's going to smash that guitar into smithereens," Sully snapped. Chrom opened his mouth, but Sully continued, "And hell no, you're not allowed to sing."

"Oh, my sweet flower!" Virion came prancing into the lunchroom. Sully shot him a sour glare. "My dearest, why are you so upset?"

Sully glowered at Chrom. It didn't matter that he was one of her best friends. Right now, she wanted to strangle him. And who in their right mind would give Chrom a musical instrument, period? Virion's eyes went from Sully to the thing that she was staring at. Virion's usual cheery smile immediately slipped off his face and his face darkened.

"Ah, it was you all this time…" Virion's flamboyant behaviour evaporated at the sight of the guitar in Chrom's arms.

"Hey! It's not _that_ bad!" Chrom protested. "Kellam said so."

"You should hear him sing, Virion. He makes dogs howl and windows shatter," Sully chuckled. "And Kellam was being nice, Chrom."

Virion let out long, uncharacteristic sigh. "Let's go around the corner for a cup of coffee, Sully. It's on me," Virion offered in defeat. "This warrants good coffee, not office coffee. I think my ears are bleeding."

Despite that Sully usually deflected all of Virion's advances, today, she enthusiastically agreed, "Yeah that sounds like a great idea." She was willing to do anything to get away from Chrom and his guitar.

"You're going to regret this when I become a super awesome guitarist one day! I'm going to pretend not to know you when I'm famous!" Chrom shouted after them.

As if on cue, Frederick stormed into the lunchroom and tried to take the guitar away from Chrom. Frederick had his hand wrapped around the neck and pulled it towards him. Chrom had his hands on the body, holding on for dear life.

"I'm taking my guitar back," Frederick yanked.

"You gave it to me," Chrom pulled.

"I'm taking it away before the entire HQ finds out I was responsible for the last three days of agony and demand my head on a platter," Frederick successfully obtained the guitar with one last pull.

Chrom pursed his lips and didn't utter a word at his superior.

"Do something else on your break," Frederick lectured.

"I guess I'll have to tell Emm and Lissa that you took your old guitar back," Chrom sighed. "There's goes my only hobby."

Frederick frowned at him. He knew that Chrom came first to Emmeryn. Frederick almost gave the guitar back to Chrom for that split second, but then gripped it even tighter.

"Well, I'll just have to tell Emmeryn the truth. You were disturbing the peace. She'll understand," Frederick said. "And Chrom, I told you hundreds of times before. HQ is _not_ your apartment. Go home when your shift ends!"

"I got caught up," Chrom quietly answered as he eyed the guitar.

"Do I need to call your sister?" Frederick frowned at his subordinate.

Chrom shot Frederick a look—a look that was reserved for whenever Frederick threatened him with his sisters. It was playing dirty!

"No," he said bitterly.

* * *

Robin curiously wandered around the vicinity of Lon'qu's room on her tippy toes. He still hadn't gotten out of bed, which was rare. Robin hoped that the smell of the waffles she made would wake him up, but to no prevail. Hesitantly, she knocked on the door lightly. She waited and then knocked louder. There was no response. Lon'qu should've been at the door by now.

Robin wrapped her hand around the door knob. "I'm coming in!" she announced nervously and opened the door.

Lon'qu was indeed home. He was sleeping with his comforter like it was sleeping bag, sleeping on one half and covering himself with the other half. From the looks of it, he plopped into bed without a second thought. He hadn't even changed out of his clothes.

Robin stifled a giggle and squatted right in front of him, watching him sleep. His usual frown was replaced with a relaxed, peaceful visage. His dark hair was a mess, but it was charming. Without even realizing it, Robin brushed some of his hair away from his eyes. She withdrew her hand and her eyes softened. She smiled. Robin loved having him around. Sure, he scolded her, but she knew it was endearing.

"Robin," Lon'qu grumbled without opening his eyes.

"G-good morning," Robin immediately stood up. She became flustered at the thought of Lon'qu knowing that she touched him. He did have a fair adversity to women.

Lon'qu didn't respond, and simply rolled over to his other side. Robin let out a sigh of relief. It was much nicer to have Lon'qu around than Priam. He didn't snore, unlike Priam. And she didn't have to worry about walking in on naked women. Eugh, Priam.

From the looks of it, Lon'qu seemed to have had a bad night. Robin left him to sleep and tiptoed out of the room. Maybe she'd sleep some more. It was her day off, might as well sleep. It was a luxury.

* * *

In front of Chrom sat a mother crying helplessly into her hands. Her wailing echoed in the conference room Chrom had invited her into. He had gotten her a cup of tea and placed a box of tissues in front of her, but it wasn't helping the situation. In between them was a picture of a young teenager with a bright smile. She owned a pair of vibrant green eyes and shoulder length red hair.

"I-I just don't know where she could've gone," the woman sobbed. "Where could she have gone?"

"We'll do everything we can to find her and bring her home safe," Chrom reassured.

"Please, you have to find Souza," she wiped her large tears with a new tissue. She threw her sopping wet tissue into the pile above the picture. "She's the only one I've got in my life."

"Mrs. Zan," Chrom started. Sumia was much better at this than him. She would've handled this a lot better than he was handling it. "Can you tell me when was the last time you saw Souza?"

"It was yesterday morning. We had a huge fight. I brought up that she was staying out too late lately. Her grades were slipping and I was concerned. She used to tell me everything. I tried calling her cell phone, but she didn't pick up all day and all night. She always comes home even if we have a bad fight. We make up over dinner and have ice cream," Mrs. Zan's voice trembled.

Chrom listened attentively and scribbled stuff down in his notebook. "Do you know where she was seen last?"

"I don't know. I contacted her friends and they told me she wasn't staying with them," she continued. "So then, I got this awful feeling." Mrs. Zanis's shoulders trembled underneath her worn cardigan as a new wave of tears erupted. There were bags under her eyes and her autumn hair was unkempt.

"Do you know if she was in trouble with anyone?" Chrom inquired softly.

"She's a good kid," Mrs. Zan blew into the tissue. Chrom waited for her to finish. "She wouldn't just run away."

"You mentioned a little earlier that she has been staying out late and her grade is slipping. Do you have any idea why this could be happening?"

"I told you. She doesn't talk to me anymore," Mrs. Zan eyes were raw from crying.

"Could you provide a list of her friends? Where she goes to school and where she usually likes to hang out?" Chrom inquired.

Mrs. Zanis slowly listed off a couple friends, then the school she attended, and her usual hangout spots.

"Okay. We'll start a search immediately. Try to get some rest, Mrs. Zanis," said Chrom calmly.

"You think I can get _rest_ when my baby's out there?" she raised her voice.

Chrom's body tensed uncomfortably. He gave her an apologetic look. "Mrs. Zan, please. I meant no harm. You just look exhausted. We'll notify you as soon as possible if there any new developments." He said each word carefully and laced with concern. "Take all the time you need," Chrom collected his stuff and went to notify the rest of his teammates.

This was the tenth missing teenaged girl of the month.

* * *

Lon'qu sauntered groggily out into living room. He yawned and stretched on the spot. He heard a faint snoring. From the corner of his eye, he saw a limp body on the couch. There was a leg and an arm hanging off the edge. The other leg was hung on the back of the couch and the other arm was resting on top of the book that was covering the face.

He smiled. Gods, Robin was ridiculous.

Lon'qu walked over to Robin and picked the book up from the spine. He set it aside. Her mouth was gaping open and there was a trail of drool down the side of her mouth. She would be so embarrassed if she knew that he saw her like this.

"Robin," he said. He reached out a hand to shake her awake, but then immediately stopped himself when his hand hovered over her shoulder. His chest tightened. He didn't want to frighten her. Besides, he had time.

Instead, he did what Priam taught him to do. Lon'qu went back to his room to grab his phone. As he returned, he tapped on the screen to found that old school rock song that Priam always blasted in his car. The song that Robin hated oh-so-much. He set it on the coffee table and pressed the 'play' icon and let the music blast at full volume.

Robin stirred for a moment, then turned to her side irritable. She continued to slumber. Lon'qu sat down on the couch, and watched the process unfold. Robin grumbled angrily in her sleep. Then she turned around once more. A frown ruined her previously relaxed face. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her sleep-crusted eyes darted about, squinting, look for the source of agony. Robin's glare fell upon Lon'qu's phone.

"You're evil," Robin grumbled, sitting up and reached over to the phone and turned it off.

"It's the only song that will wake you up. Or I have to shake you awake and I don't feel comfortable doing that," Lon'qu stretched out his hand. Robin handed the phone to him.

"Did you sleep well?" Robin rubbed her eyes. She wiped the trail of drool on the side of her face while making a slurping sound. "You saw and heard _nothing_."

Lon'qu snorted. "I saw nothing. I'm fine. You?"

"My pleasant dream became a nightmare towards the end," Robin muttered.

"I need to talk to you about something," Lon'qu began.

Her eyebrows furrowed into one another and the drowsiness she felt disappeared. Robin bit her lip. She felt her blood go cold and her heart pound a little harder. "I need something to drink," she nervously murmured and headed straight to the kitchen.

He needed to talk.

Did he know that she was talking to Chrom? No, he wouldn't know. He knows that she'd flip if he went through her phone. Besides, Lon'qu trusted her. He trusted her. Damn the Gods! He trusted her! And here she was potentially fraternizing with the enemy! The guilt began to flood in as she fumbled with a box of loose leaf tea in the kitchen.

"Do you need any help?" Lon'qu called.

"N-No!" Robin poured some into the electric kettle. "Do you want anything?" Maybe it was nothing. He usually said 'yes' if he just needed to talk to her about an everyday thing. Like that time when he was lecturing on her the importance of wearing a boob cage. And longer pyjamas in general.

"No," Lon'qu answered.

Fuck. She was screwed. Something was going on. Lon'qu never needed to 'talk'. Maybe she broke one of the rules they set up together. Robin wracked her brain. She hadn't not notified him where she would be at all times. She always had her phone on her, charged.

The kettle spewed out a long trail of steam. Then the switch clicked off. Robin poured the water into the cup, watching the tea bag she made struggle under the downpour. She understood how the tea bag felt.

"Done?" Lon'qu asked curtly.

"Yeah," Robin choked out. She carefully grabbed the steaming hot cup and took her time. The seconds crawled by with each lagged step.

"Robin, hurry up."

"Mmhmm," Robin nodded absent-mindedly. What did she do wrong? She sat down.

Lon'qu had changed out of his usual formal clothes into more comfortable clothes. It was odd. His gaze was so intense she anticipated lasers to shoot out any moment.

"The suspense is killing me! Just spit it out!" Robin snapped, nearly spilling her cup of tea.

"I'm taking a leave of absence for six months," Lon'qu announced calmly.

The hot cup of tea slipped out of her fingers. It spilled its contents onto the floor as it hit the ground with a thud.

Lon'qu sat up straight and demanded, "Did you burn yourself? Are you okay?"

"I…I…" Robin lost her words. That was a lot worse that being lectured on fraternizing with the enemy. Lon'qu was leaving her side. Her only, trusted ally.

"We should clean that up," Lon'qu eyed the steaming puddle cool and its rising angry wispy breaths.

"Is something wrong?" Robin quietly asked. "Did I do something? Was it all that trolling?"

"No," Lon'qu narrowed his eyes at Robin. Sometimes she really confused him.

"Then, what is it?" Robin asked earnestly. She sounded desperate.

"Robin, you didn't do anything wrong."

She remained quiet.

"I have to return to Chon'sin because of personal matters."

"Okay."

"Robin."

"I hope everything goes well," Robin slapped on a smile. She couldn't be selfish. He probably had family. She knew he had a sister. Lon'qu wasn't hers to keep around. Even if she would miss him a lot.

"I'm leaving next Thursday," Lon'qu gauged Robin's emotion. "They'll be sending Priam in my stead."

Robin's head snapped immediately at the mention of Priam. Her eyes wide, not full of fear, but the look that people gave when they were internally screaming in despair.

"No!" she yelled. "No, you can't do this. Take me with you. I'll behave. Anything but _him_ ," Robin begged. "I'll just fit into your suitcase."

"You can't just up and leave your job. It's already been decided," Lon'qu firmly pressed.

"No! I refuse. I'll jump off this building. Anyone. Anyone but him," Robin cried out. She plopped onto her side and buried her face into pillow. A muffled sound came from the pillow.

He knew what she was saying. "He arrives on Monday."

Suddenly, Robin sat up with a huge gasp. "Wait!"

"What?" Lon'qu quirked an eyebrow.

"Elections are coming up. Don't they _need_ him?" Robin questioned with hope filled in her words.

"No, Mustafa and Gangrel have that under control," Lon'qu responded. " _Because_ federal elections are going on, the media's going to be looking for you again. Like they always do. We need an older member around. The newer ones may snitch for money."

"Fuck!" Robin cursed. "Lon'qu, I'm an adult. I don't need a babysitter. I'll be fine without you for six months. I promise."

"I don't make the rules. Your father does," Lon'qu said with finality.

Robin pursed her lips and glared at him. Lon'qu glanced up to see a clearly distraught Robin. He felt a tinge of pity for her. But he was needed elsewhere. Ke'ri needed him.

Robin pouted, "When you come back and I'm dead from either starvation or stress or lung cancer, that's on you."

"Okay," Lon'qu snorted.

"Don't laugh. I'm dead serious," Robin glowered.

"What do you want for dinner?" Lon'qu inquired.

He knew Robin would come around.

"Freedom," Robin snapped.

Eventually.

* * *

If Frederick found out, he would probably force Chrom to take all his vacation days all at once. He had threatened Chrom on multiple occasions. But that didn't stop Chrom from coming back into HQ.

Tonight, it was Mrs. Zan and her missing daughter, Souza, that really tugged at his heartstrings. He scanned through the investigation reports. Chrom poured over each detail, hoping to find some leads. But nothing.

He groaned and sat back in his chair. Why was his job so difficult? He felt helpless, not being able to make a difference. A yawn crept up on Chrom. He checked his watch to see why he was so tired. It was almost ten thirty. There were a couple officers walking about, but most of them were out on the streets doing their shift.

Chrom jumped at the strange vibrating sensation against his thigh. He dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He swiped in his password pattern.

 **Emmeryn:** I'm _going to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe that you are home and not at the police station._

Shit.

His phone began to ring. He swiped the green phone icon.

"H-Hey, Emm," Chrom nervously chuckled.

"Are you home, Chrom?" Emmeryn asked in her usual soothing voice.

"I…uh…" He couldn't lie to his beloved sister.

"You're at the police station, aren't you?" Emmeryn sighed.

"I told him to go home," said another voice on the other end.

"Is that Frederick?" Chrom began to sweat.

"Yes," Emmeryn confirmed. "I heard about your guitar playing."

Chrom heard some shuffling on the other end.

"Officer Chrom Exalt, this is your superior speaking to you. I have told you to not to overwork yourself for years. This is the last straw. I am officially forcing you to take half of your accumulated paid vacation days," Frederick stated. "That's an order."

"Sir, please. That'll kill me," Chrom protested.

"No, overworking will kill you," Frederick argued. "You will return your badge and firearm to me first thing tomorrow morning. Understood?"

Chrom slouched in his chair defeated. He still held the phone against his ear.

"Is that understood, Officer Exalt?" asked Frederick.

"Yes, sir," Chrom was mentally kicking himself for getting caught. He should've known Frederick would be with Emmeryn.

"I'll buy you a guitar," said Emmeryn cheerfully on the phone. "You can practice then."

"You really shouldn't." Chrom overheard Frederick.

"Thanks," Chrom said dryly.

"How did things go with Robin?" Emmeryn inquired.

"I'm meeting up with her on Sunday," he grumbled.

"That's wonderful!" Emmeryn exclaimed.

"Yeah," Chrom didn't feel so excited anymore. "Emm, I need to go."

"Oh, okay. Good night, Chrom," she murmured hesitantly.

He hung up and sat there in the dark with his lamp as the only source of illumination. Eugh, misery.

* * *

Robin blinked in the dark with her head was buzzing with thoughts. She was curled on her side with only her face popping out of her thick duvet. She pursed her lips. She didn't think life could get worse than the possibility of fraternizing with a cop. But apparently, it could: Priam.

"Eugh!" she thrashed in her sheets angrily. Once she settled down, she reached for her phone. It was 11:07 PM. Ylisse was a couple hours ahead of Plegia, so she knew Aversa would still be awake.

Robin tapped at her phone a couple times and then pressed the phone against her ear. She curled up on her other side in her bed sheets. She listened to the phone play (most likely) the latest hit in Plegia.

"Eeeeeeeeek!" a voice suddenly shrieked on the other end.

Robin immediately pulled the phone off her ear wincing.

"I never thought you'd call first!" shouted the voice.

"Hey, Avie," Robin murmured.

"Awwe, I'm so glad you called! I was just thinking of you. You probably need a haircut and new wardrobe," Aversa rambled. She gasped dramatically. "Maybe you should come to Plegia for a bit! You should attend the presidential ceremony. I'm sure the media will love you. And I can give you a makeover! You probably look like a zombie."

"Haven't you seen all the photos of me that are on the internet? They always snap the photo when I'm making a face or transitioning between expressions. I'm the epitome of unphotogenic," Robin grumbled. "Or I blink. Every. Time. I look like a joke on the internet. And you always look fab."

Aversa laughed on the other end of the phone. "Okay. Fine. So why'd you call so late?"

"Maybe I just missed you," Robin offered.

"Uh-huh. What else?" Aversa snorted. "Spit it out."

Robin waited a couple seconds before saying anything. "I'm having an awful day. Avie, Lon'qu's leaving me to fend for myself against Priam," Robin groaned.

"I heard," Aversa chuckled. "That should be fun."

"Not you too," said Robin.

"It'll be fine. You'll have more freedom with Priam around. Lon'qu actually does his job. Priam doesn't," Aversa suggested. "No, don't put that there. Put that over there. Sorry, Robin."

"Are you still at work?" Robin asked.

"Mmm, maybe." Robin heard her smile through the phone. "Want me to let you on a secret?"

"Sure," Robin shrugged.

"I'm going to open up my own designer line!" Aversa squealed excitedly.

"Oh my Gods! Congrats!" Robin sat up.

"I know!" Aversa shouted through the phone.

"You've always wanted that!" Robin beamed.

"I know. It's about time, really," Aversa giggled.

"What about modeling?" Robin inquired.

"It's still going. I'll put it on hold once I debut my fashion line."

"Did you pick out a name yet?"

"No, can't decide on a name actually."

"Hmm."

"You can help me out later. I'm still really in the beginning process. Promise me you won't tell anyone. Only Tharja and you know. Tharja because she's my assistant," said Aversa.

"Yeah, I promise."

"You know, Robin. I get the feeling that you're more upset with Lon'qu leaving than Priam coming."

"What makes you say that?" Robin was taken aback.

"Because you still like him," Aversa said bluntly.

"Avie. Not this again," Robin rolled her eyes.

"Just speaking the truth, little sister," Aversa teased.

"Okay, I admit, I did have a thing for him, but I persuaded myself out of it," Robin confessed. "It's foolish. We would never work."

"Mmhmm," Aversa sounded like she wasn't persuaded.

"Avie, come on," Robin laughed. "I'm serious!"

Robin phone gave a muted cry, notifying her that a text message came in.

"Sure," Aversa played along.

It was from 'Police Stalker': Chrom.

"Think whatever you want," Robin answered absentmindedly. "Anyway, I'm heading to bed. Love you, bye." Robin hung up before her sister could say a word. Curiously, she opened their conversation.

 **Police Stalker:** _Could we meet a little earlier?_

She stared at the text for a moment. What if Phila was right and he was actually interested? Was she okay with that? Would it make her a horrible person to consider Chrom, even with her dark, hurtful history with police officers? Why did people bother with social interactions and romantic relationships? Why? What if her family found out? They'd drag her ass back to Plegia before she could even explain. What if Lon'qu found out? She honestly couldn't fathom a realistic response. And Priam? Whatever, he wouldn't care nor would he even know. Besides, it would be much easier to do this under Priam's nose than Lon'qu's.

Another text came in.

 **Police Stalker:** _Sorry, I just realized it's really late. Hope I didn't wake you._

No. No more over-thinking everything. She was just returning his jacket. Which she had washed and left aside.

 **Robin:** _Dw about it. I was already awake. Like when?_ Robin texted back.

His response came back in straight away.

 **Police Stalker:** _Does Friday work?_

Friday…that gave her two days. But Friday was also when Maribelle and her promised to go watch the new movie together. She had already booked tickets for after work on Friday. She'll make it work. She was just returning his jacket.

 **Robin:** _Between five and seven works for me._ _Wanna meet at Risen?_

 **Police Stalker:** _The 24 hour café?_

 **Robin:** _Yeah_

 **Police Stalker:** _Sounds good. See you then._

 **Robin:** _kk_

Robin returned the phone to her bedside stable and settled in to sleep. Robin yawned. She felt sleepier now than before. Sleep weighed down her eyelids and she felt herself falling asleep.

Then, her phone rang again. A new text. But Robin had already fallen asleep.

 _What do you do when you have a bad day?_

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

I tried a slightly different format with the texting thing. I thought it was easier to read. Let me know what you thought. If you enjoyed the new chapter, please remember to leave a review! And to those who are leaving reviews without an account, thank you! I would love to reply, but I can't. :(

Constructive criticism is also appreciated.


	11. Nerves and Thoughts

**Author's Notes:** Here is another chapter! Eeeeek! So close to finally developing the Chrobin relationship!

And as always, thank you for your patience and support!

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Nerves and Thoughts**

Of course this would happen while forced on vacation, Chrom groaned internally. His eyes were alert and bright like a pair of flashlights.

The time glared at him on his phone. _5:46 AM._

He woke up fourteen minutes before the alarm. It was the worse feeling—waking up before the alarm even though he wasn't required at work. Screw it, he was going to sleep in. Chrom was about to turn off the alarm, but them remembered something. He was expected to return his badge and firearm to Frederick first thing in the morning.

He groaned into his pillow. "Okay, Chrom, let's get out of bed," he sat up with mussed hair.

* * *

The cell phone vibrated and clattered against the bedside table while ringing obnoxiously. The screen had an alarm clock urgently bouncing about. The same little melody kept playing on repeat, urging the owner to wake up.

The owner tossed and turned under the duvet a couple times. Then a headful of messy brown hair popped out. Robin squinted around looking for her phone. Once she spotted it, she swiped the screen, turning it off. She grabbed the phone and then collapsed back into her blanket. There was some residual warmth imprinted in her nest. She snuggled in and checked her phone.

"Silly Lon'qu. Other sounds work too," Robin grumbled as she remembered having to wake up to the wretched song that Priam favoured so much the night before.

There were a couple e-mails—newsletters from the hospital, spam, and advertisements from the sites she ordered from. She also received one last text from 'Police Stalker' that was marked unread. She must've fallen asleep before it arrived. With a sleepy smile, she opened the text conversation with 'Police Stalker'.

 _What do you do when you have a bad day?_

Robin sat up and scratched her head. Then, she hummed thoughtfully. Truthfully, she made Lon'qu uncomfortable by bawling, and usually that worked. Afterwards, she'd either eat, sleep, or mope more. She bit her lip. She didn't really have the best coping mechanisms. She'd answer it later. She had to get to work.

When she kicked off her blanket, the cool morning air nipped at her bare skin. She shivered, but headed to the washroom to get ready for the day. Knowing Lon'qu, he probably finished doing Gods know whatever he does in the morning and was preparing breakfast. Robin popped her head out her door. The smell in the air confirmed it. Yup, he was cooking breakfast.

* * *

There were several other joggers taking advantage of the nice morning in Ephraim Park. The air was crisp and early birds chirped happily, looking for their worms. It was also another clear day with the bright sun smiling down upon Ylisstol. Chrom noted that summer was just around the corner. Many joggers wore long pants, but he noticed that some of the joggers favoured shorts.

He entered the last leg of his usual trail and then slowed to a halt. He grinned foolishly, catching his breath. There were several trees that were planted there when he was child to his right one side. Chrom spun in a circle on the spot, taking in his surroundings. It was such a wonderful morning.

Chrom started to laugh by himself. Passerbys shot the strange young man with the sleeveless hoodie quizzical looks and swerved around him on their morning stroll.

He was standing where he first met Robin. A goofy grin was pasted on his face. He'd ask her out on Friday. For real this time. He wasn't going to take 'no' as an answer. He'd beg on his knees if he had to.

Okay, maybe not that far. That was a little too desperate.

He still had a day to figure out how to not sound like a loser. He continued on his way, finishing his run.

"What's that?" Lon'qu asked in the elevator. He gestured to the paper bag clutched in the Robin's hand.

"Oh, this? I'm returning Chrom's blazer to him tomorrow. I thought I should just leave it in my locker overnight, in case I forget it tomorrow," Robin glanced up at Lon'qu and then stared at the elevator floor with a sheepish smile.

"The officer," he said.

"Yeah," she quietly confirmed.

"I can drop it off for you," Lon'qu stated with a tone of finality.

"No! I mean, no, it's okay. I can do it," Robin shook her head, her grip tightening around the paper handles. "I can do it."

Lon'qu opened his mouth to say something, but the elevator pinged and opened to the main lobby. Robin escaped before he could say anything. He followed suit. Their footsteps clicked against the polished marble floor. Near the main desk was a little old Ylissean lady dressed in a posh skirt with a matching top. She had a voluminous grey bob and an odd hat that matched her outfit. There was no mistaking her. It was the owner.

Immediately, Lon'qu said, "I'll get the car, you wait here." At that moment, the owner turned around and locked eyes with the prey.

"What do you mean get the car? You're not leaving me behind to fend for myself. Besides, it was your idea to talk to the security desk about adding Priam to the security list," Robin said through her forced smile and firmly grabbed his wrist. "You're not going anywhere." Quickly, she pried her fingers between his and held his hand.

The two stiffly waved at the old lady who was practically prancing towards them. Even Lon'qu forced a closed smile, even if it did resemble a tortured grimace.

"Oh! Well, isn't my favorite _married_ couple," the old lady grinned as her eyes fell to their awkward hand holding. "Oh, Lon'qu, dear. No need to be shy around me when it comes to holding hands," she laughed obnoxiously while covering her mouth daintily with her hand. It was the quite the contrast.

"Hello, Madame Pavise," Robin greeted. "Didn't expect to see you. It's nice to see you…again."

Madame Pavise's eyes twinkled as she eyed Robin. "Darling, you're absolutely _glowing_ today. You look like you gained a couple pounds." She gasped. "Are you two _finally_ pregnant?" She clapped her hands.

Robin's lips twitched. Lon'qu wanted to bury her alive.

"No, not yet. I guess I'm just getting fatter. And as you _always_ remind me, I guess my uterus is shrievling up too," Robin swung a fist disappointedly, playing along with being upset with the fact that she was yet to be impregnated by her fake husband. She heard Lon'qu sigh. "We're just not ready yet, are we, Lon-lon?" Robin wrapped an arm around Lon'qu and patted his chest with the other hand.

"No…sweetheart," Lon'qu shot Robin a look and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"What sweet pet names. Takes me back when Harold used to be alive," Madame Pavise cooed. "You're definitely glowing though. What is it? Are you perhaps simply _waiting_ to tell me after a couple visits to the doctor?"

"Nope," Robin shook her head with the same fake smile.

"Oh, but dear, you look like you're in love," Madame Pavise exclaimed. "Or pregnant."

"Yup, so in love. With my husband. Who is standing right beside me," Robin strained. "Right, Lon-lon?"

"So in love," he repeated in a monotonous voice. Then, he awkwardly kissed on her the crown of her head.

Robin's mask slipped and she looked up at Lon'qu questioningly. That was weird. Lon'qu met her eyes and then shifted his eyes towards where Madame Pavise was standing. She made an 'oh, right' sound and gathered her attention back to Madame Pavise. She'd play along.

"Oh, when Harold was still around, we were just like you two. So in love. He—well, _we_ couldn't take keep our hands off of each other. We'd even sneak in some _fun_ before he had to leave for work in the mornings," Madame Pavise added in a loud whisper at the end.

Lon'qu uncomfortably cleared his throat and blushed furiously. Robin dropped her head to hide her exasperated look of despair. Now she was imagining old people sex. Great. That was going to torment her for the rest of the day.

"Oh, yeah. T-totally, Madame Pavise," Robin stuttered as she nodded enthusiastically. "I completely understand. We just made passionate love…in the shower…just an hour ago. Then Lon-lon made breakfast. Yup. That's why I'm glowing," Robin nervously laughed. "The heat. From the water. I mean." She wanted to crawl into a hole.

"Oh, my," Madame Pavise giggled giddily. "Sounds like he's doing his part. But then again…" Madame Pavise's eyes fell to Lon'qu's crotch. "…you're not pregnant yet."

Lon'qu's eye twitched and he angled his body slightly away from her gaze.

"Yup, He's the perfect husband. Except that he's _leaving_ me next week because of…work," she shot a glare at Lon'qu.

"Oh, dear," Madame Pavise pursed her lips sympathetically. "Darling, it'll go by faster than you know."

Lon'qu looked at his wristwatch. "Robin. I don't want you to be late for work. We should head out."

"Yes, don't wanna be late for work," Robin agreed.

"I didn't mean to keep you lovely people waiting," Madame Pavise gasped.

"We'll see your later, Madame Pavise," Robin waved goodbye.

Robin and Lon'qu sped walk straight back to the elevator to get to the parking garage on the basement floors. They jumped in the elevator as soon as the doors slid open.

"Lon-lon?" he demanded with an irritated kink in his eyebrows. "We made a deal, _miss_."

"You kissed me on my head," Robin scoffed. "Couples usually kiss on the cheek."

"It's not my fault you're short," Lon'qu stated bluntly, avoiding eye contact.

"Hey! I didn't _choose_ to be short! I'm _average_ height, thank you very much! It's not my fault Aversa got all the tall genes," Robin sassed.

"We made love in the shower?" Lon'qu glowered at her. "I don't appreciate our sex life being disclosed to that nosy old woman even if it is made-up."

"I think that was the dirtiest thing that has come out of your mouth. Ever," Robin laughed.

"Robin."

"I just went with whatever that came to mind. I think we should come up with a rehearsed repertoire for situations like this."

"Hmm."

* * *

"Here, sir," Chrom stood at attention. He placed his trusty gun and proud police badge on top of the Frederick's desk.

Everyone pretended to be working, while also peering into the glass office curiously that contained the young officer and his superior. They didn't want to get scolded by the deputy chief, but they were all dying to know the drama that was unfolding within the transparent office.

"You need a break," Frederick stated objectively, dragging Chrom's prized possessions towards him. He opened a desk drawer and dropped them in with two heavy thunks. Chrom did his best to maintain a neutral face but was struggling to do so.

Frederick sighed. He angled his head to look behind Chrom. Everyone were curiously eyeing them and failing to conceal the fact that they were spying.

"Two weeks," said Frederick.

"Sir?" Chrom lost his composure a bit.

"If you take half of your vacation days off, you'll be out for at least a month and a half. I can't have one of my best officers gone that long," Frederick crossed his arms and sank into his seat. "You can take two weeks."

"Thank you, Chief," Chrom let out a sigh of relief. "I was starting to wonder what I was supposed to do for six weeks."

"Now, scram. Go bother someone else for two weeks," Frederick chuckled. "I don't even want to see a single blue hair of yours! Understood?"

"Will do, Chief," Chrom saluted and left his office.

Chrom pushed his way through the office door and saw everyone's eyes on him. He wore a confused smile as he exited and walked a couple meters away. At that moment, all his fellow comrades rushed to his side.

"What happened?" Sumia asked sincerely.

"Are you getting a promotion?" Vaike demanded.

"What did you break this time?" Sully shook her head.

"Guys," Chrom tried to calm everyone down.

"Why did you have to hand in your stuff?" Cordelia inquired.

"Are you retiring? At your age?" gasped Virion.

"Guys," Chrom tried again.

"Are you being transferred?" Kellam asked disappointedly.

"Spit it out!" Sully snapped.

"I'M TAKING MY VACAY DAYS!" Chrom hollered over everyone.

They immediately closed their mouths and stared at Chrom.

"Huh?!" Vaike broke the silence.

"Chrom. I want you to be honest with us. Are you dying? People don't just change like that overnight," Sully raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Everyone immediately became silent and stared at Chrom.

"No, Sully, I'm not dying," Chrom flatly stated.

"Oh, thank goodness," Sumia breathed.

* * *

Robin dexterously spun in her lock combo and then gave it a hard tug. It clicked open. She opened the locker door and hung the lock on the inside. Her eyes immediately fell to the paper bag on the top shelf.

She was going to see Chrom tomorrow.

Her heart began to beat a little faster in her chest. No, she couldn't get excited over this. It was innocent really. Just returning the blazer. That's what it was. Just returning the blazer. This meeting would be officially how she determined if she needed to cut every aspect of him out of her life. Yeah. Simple as that.

But then again…her mother _and_ Phila would've wanted her to do things that made her happy. She was losing it again. How would _Chrom_ , the stalker, idiot cop, make her happy? He was just interesting. And maybe he was also a tall, handsome gentleman. No! Stop! She berated herself. Maybe she was ovulating…women tended to get hornier around ovulation. Not that she wanted Chrom. In that way. Obviously. She totally didn't want to know what it would feel like to be in his toned arms. Nope.

"What are you doing?" a voice broke her trance.

"Phila!" Robin jumped.

"Why are you standing there, blushing like someone watching porn?" Phila quirked an eyebrow. She buried her hands into her white coat pockets.

Phila had such a way with words. Such a pleasant way.

"Just grabbing my wallet," Robin dug her hand into her handbag and pulled out her wallet. "See?"

"Uh-huh," Phila nodded slowly, not believing a word she said.

"Let's go eat lunch," Robin locked up and linked her arm into Phila's. "You must be starving."

"I'm going to pry it out of your over lunch," Phila eyed Robin.

Robin sighed in defeat, "Yeah, I know. But I'm going to fight you the entire process."

Phila cackled. "I'd like to see you try. Off to the cafeteria!"

* * *

"Your younger brother is here," the male secretary knocked on the opened the door. "Should I send him in?"

Emmeryn looked up from her stack of papers. She pulled out the pen holding up her hair, allowing her blonde curls to dance over her shoulders for a moment. She stood up and straightened up her beige blouse and light green pencil skirt

"I'll come out. Thank you," Emmeryn left her office and made her way down the hallway. Soon, she spotted her younger brother slouched on a couch in the waiting area. Some things just didn't change. This was how she always found him when he came to visit her in his Police Academy days.

The oldest Exalt sibling also noticed some of the younger female employees and new interns eyeing him and giggling. As usual, he didn't notice. He was busy with his thoughts. Probably more evidence for a case or an improved marksmanship score.

"Chrom, what brings you to the Ministry of Health and Welfare?" Emmeryn smiled softly.

"Hey, Emm," he straightened up. "I'm taking you out for lunch. Is that okay? Do you have time? I tried to come a couple minutes before noon." Chrom nervously looked at his wristwatch. "Oh, darn. I should've called you before coming."

Emmeryn chuckled at her younger brother. "Don't worry about it. You haven't taken me out for lunch since you started working. You used to only come by when you were a starving university student."

That was true. Often, Chrom would have lunch with Emmeryn during the week when he was still a university student at the Police Academy. It was because the cafeteria food was becoming unbearable and he was fairly certain that he was becoming malnourished. Even if he _was_ getting fat. One can be malnourished and still be fat! Lissa always made it a habit to poke his food baby in first year.

"I have time _a lot_ of time, now," Chrom offered his arm. "And now, I get paid. It's on me."

"Okay, little brother. Let's," Emmeryn took his arm.

As they headed to the elevator, a couple of the young women giggled and scurried past.

Chrom blushed. "Emm, don't look. But is my fly down _again_?" Chrom whispered to Emmeryn. He took a brief trip down memory lane. He had forgotten his fly after using the washroom in third year. He hadn't noticed it all day and was walked around like that, until Emmeryn told him before they went for lunch.

Emmeryn giggled at Chrom. "Nope. Not this time. I don't think that's it."

* * *

"Stop it, Phila!" Robin said with a mouthful of her sandwich. "You're driving me nuts!"

"No, spit it out before I throttle you! I spend most of the day with people who aren't lucid and mumble nonsense in the psych ward! _As much as I love_ helping those unfortunate souls, I need real world gossip! Right now I live vicariously through _you_ because my dear Raimi is off in stupid Chon'sin!" Phila stabbed her pasta salad violently. "Talk!"

Everyone in the cafeteria was watching the two physicians argue. Patients were interested to hear some potential hospital gossip. Interns were trying to get some dirt on the more experienced doctors so they could twist their arms later for better cases. The nurses apprehensively tried to maintain their class, but were also invested in Robin's surprising existence of a love life.

"No," Robin said stubbornly. If she could drag this long enough, she might be able to escape Phila's prying until after work.

"What were you smiling so blissfully about?" Phila asked testily.

"I'm not talking. You're going to tease me endlessly after I tell you," Robin pouted.

"Did you do his dirty laundry for him because you guys had mad sex in your house? While Lon'qu was home?" Phila quirked an eyebrow. "Threesome?"

"Gods, Phila! Shut it! I swear, I will make _you_ choke on _my_ sandwich," Robin threatened.

"Try it," Phila grinned smugly. "I'm in a hospital. That's the best place to be a victim of choking."

"Eugh, you're insufferable," Robin threw her sandwich down. "People are _listening_. It's his blazer. Okay? I'm meeting him tomorrow after work so I can give it back to him. That's it."

"See? Now was that so hard?" Phila innocently smiled and blinked her long lashes at Robin.

"Even if you're my best friend, I hate you," Robin glared.

"I love you too, hon," Phila happily went back to eating. "This would be so much easier if you would share more stuff about your life. It's that easy, Robin."

"I believe you share enough for both of us," Robin grumbled.

Phila smiled cheekily, "We both know, you live for my gossip."

"Sure," Robin rolled her eyes.

She just didn't want to make this a 'thing'. She hoped maybe not acknowledging him would make him prancing about in her mind go away. It was just a phase. If she were make this a 'thing', there would be expectations. There were always expectations in relationships. It was when people couldn't meet those expectations that people felt betrayed and hurt. Besides, she lived a life meticulously constructed from lies and secrets. Who would love someone like her? She couldn't.

"Robin," said Phila.

"Yeah?" Robin asked.

It was almost as if the previous bickering and hostility hadn't even happened. They were back to normal. A lot of things didn't faze the two. This was why they were best friends.

"Did something happen?" Phila inquired carefully.

"Did what happen?" Robin sipped her tea.

"You just seem a bit off today," Phila started on her carrot cake. "You know I won't tell anyone, right? I _am_ your friend."

Robin sighed and stared at her lunch, sitting on her tray. It didn't look very appetizing at that moment.

"Lon'qu's leaving," Robin murmured.

"Your bodyguard?" Phila raised an eyebrow.

"Shh, not so loud!" Robin hushed Phila. "You're the one of the few people that knows that I'm the Pelgian's president's daughter."

"Oh, right, sorry," Phila whispered.

"He has some personal matters to attend to. So they're sending that mentally challenged dimwit instead," Robin buried her face into her hands.

"Priam," Phila concluded.

"Yeah," Robin groaned.

"Is that it?" Phila asked.

"Yeah," Robin said hesitantly.

"You sure?" Phila crossed her arms.

 _No_. _She was afraid of herself. Of what she would feel when she saw Chrom tomorrow._

Robin nodded.

"Okay," Phila sighed. "You can talk when you feel ready."

She decided to not respond to his most recent text. She shouldn't encourage this.

* * *

Emmeryn and Chrom sat outside of Amelie's Bakery, enjoying coffee and their sandwiches. It was busy and bustling, but it was pleasant. It was nice to just enjoy the warm weather.

"Oh, Chrom," Emmeryn called his name like she suddenly remembered something. "How are things going with the lady friend…I'm so sorry, I can't recall her name."

"Robin," Chrom immediately offered.

"Yes, her," Emmeryn smiled.

"I'm meeting up with her tomorrow. She wanted to wash my jacket before returning it to me," Chrom sipped his hot coffee.

"Y-your jacket? I didn't know you guys were that far into the relationship," Emmeryn blushed.

"Huh? Don't get the wrong idea, Emm!" Chrom blushed too and shook his head. "I just lent it her last time because she was cold. I didn't like leave it at her house or anything like that."

"Oh," Emmeryn nodded. "Right. You wouldn't do that."

"Yeah," Chrom awkwardly confirmed. "Besides I'm not really seeing her."

Emmeryn gave a Chrom a questioning look, encouraging him to continue.

"I haven't really had a chance to ask her out yet. And doing it over text is so cowardly and unimpressive," Chrom confessed sheepishly.

"Well, you have a chance tomorrow, don't you?" Emmeryn giggled.

"Yeah. Really nervous," Chrom croaked.

"You'll be fine. You're a great guy. She'd be lucky to have you," said Emmeryn.

"Yeah," Chrom murmured. For some reason, he didn't feel that reassured.

Little did he know that nothing was going to go according to plan tomorrow evening.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Please let me know what you thought of the chapter! I really have no idea how to gauge how it's being received, since it's not like you can give a 'like' or something. You can PM me if you're too shy to leave a review. I love talking to the readers!


	12. Foolish

**Chapter 12: Foolish**

Lon'qu didn't have a chance to talk to Robin about meeting Chrom after running into Madame Pavise. She slipped through his fingers and scurried off to the hospital. The same night, she came back late from the hospital because of another emergency surgery. He didn't have the heart to fight about the issue of meeting up with the police officer with Robin who had dozed off in the passenger seat.

He'd nip it in the bud at breakfast.

He needed to secure her safety before leaving. She was his responsibility.

The treadmill Lon'qu had been running on entered its cool down cycle. He slowed down the speed and lowered the incline. He took his time coming down to walking speed, and once the treadmill came to a stop, he stepped off.

As he reached for his water bottle, he watched the sun starting to rise in between the skyscrapers through the gigantic glass windows that encased the gym. He was going to miss this—his early morning workouts in the gym on the top floor of the condominium building. It was always quiet when he arrived at four thirty in the morning and people rarely took advantage of it.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he took a long drink. Lon'qu grabbed the towel he had hung on the treadmill and wiped away his sweat. He hung it around his neck and headed back downstairs. He still had to shower and then make Robin breakfast. If she lived on her own, she'd most likely skip breakfast in favour or more sleep.

He sighed. She was probably going to starve after he was gone.

* * *

"I can't…believe…you're going to…leave me," Robin said while chewing a mouthful of food.

She stabbed another piece of honeydew in the bowl of colourful fruit chunks. It was a little too big to chew in one go, but that didn't stop Robin from stuffing it in her mouth.

"I'm sure Priam won't be that bad," Lon'qu offered. "Maybe he's changed."

Robin stopped chewing and shot him a dirty glare. She snorted. "Yeah, in my dreams. Oh, wait. In my dreams, he doesn't exist."

"There's nothing you can do about it now," Lon'qu sipped his green tea.

"That doesn't mean it won't stop me from complaining about it," Robin pursed her lips. She picked up the slice of toast. "This is new. Care to take me through what it is, Chef Lon'qu?"

"It's a slice of bread toasted with pesto mayo spread on it. Tomato and avocado slices with goat cheese. And freshly ground pepper," said Lon'qu without looking up from his phone.

"You should just open your own restaurant," Robin took a bit. She moaned in delight, "Eugh, so good. You gotta share this with the world."

"I was going to." The words slipped out his mouth. He wasn't expecting that at all.

"Yeah?" Robin perked up with interest. "Then why are you in this type of work?"

For a moment, he was at a loss of words. He hadn't made a Freudian slip like this in front of Robin in a while. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth. "I…It's none of your business. When do you finish work tonight?"

"You were about to tell me something about your personal life," Robin pouted. "Can't you share a little bit?"

"When do you finish work?" Lon'qu repeated, putting down his phone.

"Around five. That's if there are no emergencies," Robin yawned.

"I'll pick you up at the front," he said.

"No need," Robin waved her hand.

Lon'qu narrowed his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that," Robin imitated him and narrowed her eyes to bother him.

"I can drop off the officer's jacket for him," said Lon'qu. It sounded more like an order than an offer.

"I can do it, Lon'qu," Robin picked up her cup of orange juice.

"Robin, I'm serious." He was terribly displeased with her sudden stubbornness. Normally, she'd go along with what he had in mind or suggested.

"I'm serious too," Robin frowned. "I'm just returning his jacket. Nothing more."

"Then it wouldn't be a problem if I drop you off wherever you're meeting, right?" Lon'qu questioned. "And wait for you in the car?"

Robin bit her lower lip. She put down the orange juice. "Why do you not trust me with this? I'm not some hormonal preteen."

"I didn't say that," Lon'qu calmly replied.

"Well, you make it sound like I can't control myself. I'm not going to _throw_ myself at him. I'm just returning a favour," Robin snapped.

"Robin," Lon'qu sighed. That didn't stop her from continuing.

"I do have some self-respect," Robin huffed. "You _know_ me. I'm not stupid. Stop trying to protect me from _myself_."

His patience was wearing thin and his frustration was building. Why was she being so stubborn? He didn't have time for this anymore. He was leaving in less than a week. Why couldn't she understand that it can only take one encounter to be attracted to someone? It didn't matter which one of the two it was, because the other one would try to get closer only in a matter of time. At this moment, Lon'qu knew Chrom had tried more than once to get closer. For all he knew, the whole blazer thing could be part of the plan. Sly dastard.

"I'm doing this _because_ you're not trying hard enough to protect yourself," Lon'qu raised his voice, cutting her off. "Priam sure as hell won't stop you from making stupid mistakes after I'm gone. He's going to make you learn _every single lesson_ on your own."

His words felt like a sharp slap across her face. Her previous hostility faded into a visage of hurt.

"Ouch," Robin murmured.

"This is my fault. I've been giving you too much freedom. I should've been by your side more often," Lon'qu scowled at himself.

His ferocity subsided when he saw Robin's dropped gaze. She busied herself with her hands, acting like a child who had just been chastised for something they hadn't committed.

He wanted to say _'I just don't want to see you get hurt.'_ But that's not that came out.

"Stop being foolish. You're bound to make a mistake," Lon'qu quietly said to her. "All it takes is one mistake and your life in Ylisse could be over. He's not stupid. He was _specially trained_ for things like this."

Lon'qu didn't need the annoying Ylissean cop ruining everything he's planned and established by digging around where he shouldn't. It was too early to pull the skeletons out of the closet. And that would also mean dragging Robin down too.

"Foolish?" Robin repeated like she was trying to figure out why the word tasted so bad in her mouth. She scoffed.

Foolish.

That's how Lon'qu saw her. A foolish little girl.

"It'll take more than one mistake," Robin finally looked up. There were angry tears glistening in her eyes and something else Lon'qu had never seen in her eyes before: contempt. "Everything isn't going to just _unravel_ if he finds out that I'm the Plegian president's daughter. It's not like that _fact_ is going to lead to all the money laundering, the drugs, sex trafficking, and all the damned crimes _we_ have committed. I wasn't born yesterday."

 _We_. Lon'qu noticed how she included herself into the crimes of the Grima Syndicate even when she hadn't done anything wrong.

She continued her tirade, "Even if I _were_ to be _foolish_ enough to date him, what makes you think I'm going to just go la-di-da, guess who I am? I'm the daughter of the man who's responsible for the Grima Syndicate." She brought up her hands and did jazz hands as she said the last statement with a sarcastic smile.

"So what are you saying?" Lon'qu demanded seriously.

"As you answered moments ago: none of your business," Robin stood up from her seat. "I'm taking the subway and you don't have to pick me up. Maribelle and I are going to go see a movie after work around seven that I told you about last week. She'll drop me off. Have yourself a wonderful day that isn't infect by my _foolishness_."

Robin hadn't meant to tell Lon'qu where she was going to be, but it was a habit. It just came out. She turned on her heel to grab her stuff from her room. Once she re-emerged, she ignored Lon'qu and stormed straight to the door.

He listened to her slam open the shoe closet and throw her shoes on the ground. He turned around on his seat to watch Robin. As of that moment, Robin was shoving her feet into her shoes. She let out a sound of frustration when the shoe didn't just slip on. Then she stomped around a bit.

"Stupid fucking shoes!" Robin cursed. She threw her bag down and sat down on the floor, struggling with her shoes.

Lon'qu got up from his seat and sauntered over to Robin. "You sure you don't want a ride?"

"I'm not talking to you," Robin finally got her shoes on.

"Commuting will take you over an hour," Lon'qu pointed out. "You'll be late."

"Well, that's not your problem. It's mine, isn't it?" Robin sassed. "Or are you assuming I'm too _foolish_ to find my way around on the subway too? Or that I'm _foolish_ enough to tell a homeless person all my secrets?"

"I thought you weren't talking to me," Lon'qu pointed out and crossed his arms.

"I'm not!" she yelled.

Without another word, Robin pressed the 'open' button on the electronic lock. It sang a little melody and the gears turned, unlocking the door. She opened the door and walked out.

Well, that could've gone better, Lon'qu thought. Maybe he was overthinking things.

As he headed back to the dining table, he heard beeping sounds on the other end of the door. The electronic lock turned its gears again and Robin was introduced back into the house. She didn't bother taking her shoes off and went straight towards him.

"Take your shoes off in the house. I'll make you vacuum if you leave a mess this time," Lon'qu threatened weakly.

Robin reached over for her slice of toast and made a beeline back to the door.

"Are you serious?" Lon'qu was at a loss of words.

"I can't help it that you put drugs in your food. It's not my fault I'm addicted," she yelled. "And if I'm going to fight you, I'm going to have to have the energy," Robin said as she bit into the toast while making eye contact. She gestured to her eyes and then his eyes with her two fingers.

"You sure you don't want a ride?" Lon'qu sighed.

"Remember? We're not talking," Robin snapped and slammed the door behind her.

Lon'qu got the feeling that Robin didn't quite understand the concept of 'I'm not talking to you'.

* * *

Robin seethed on the subway. Her body rocked as she gripped the hanging handle tightly. It definitely wasn't comfortable, that was for sure. It was packed and the bodies of morning commuters bumped against her. She had already stumbled about several times and the subway had only made four stops so far.

She firmly believed that Lon'qu overstepped this time. She clenched her teeth. It was her life. She was starting to get sick of everyone else dictating her on what to do with it. Robin was already upset that Lon'qu was being replaced by Priam. She didn't need more dumped on her. Especially being told who she could see and who she couldn't. What did he think she was? A teenager dating an older man who was a rapist and a drug dealer? No. Sure, Chrom was weird. But he wasn't a crazy rapist nor a drug dealer.

His words echoed in her mind.

 _Stop being foolish. You're bound to make a mistake. All it takes is one mistake and your life in Ylisse could be over. He's not stupid. He was_ specially trained _for things like this._

His words stung. She couldn't completely explain why, but they really stung.

She bit her lip and held her bag closer to her body.

He could be right. But she wasn't even sure what she wanted anymore.

* * *

Chrom sat on his couch, playing it his phone. Robin hadn't texted since two days ago. She was usually quick to respond. He glanced at the clock, it was around one. Perhaps he should text her to see if they were still on for today.

 _Hey, Robin! Hope you're doing okay_. Send.

He sat there and watched his phone for ten minutes, but there was no response. He never thought he had the capability of staring at a blank phone screen for that long.

Maybe she was at work. That made sense. But just in case, one more text wouldn't do any harm.

 _Did you get my last text?_

Wait, she might get confused. He wasn't talking about the most recent text he sent. He needed to clarify the situation.

 _I mean the one before the last two._

 _The one about the bad day?_

 _Maybe your phone ate it? Or it got lost? lol jk_

Okay, maybe he ended up sending more than one text…

Chrom ended up alternating between torturing himself with waiting and playing 'Jelly Crush'. Another hour and a half crawled by.

What if she had forgotten? No way. She was a doctor for Naga's sake! You have to be smart to become a surgeon. But then again, he supposedly got into Police Academy, where only the best students are accepted, and his fellow teammates and him still occasionally forgot things. She was probably so swamped with work, she might've forgotten.

She probably needed a reminder.

 _Are you still okay for meeting at Risen at 5?_

He fidgeted a bit but to his relief, a response came in a minute later.

 _Yeah_

She didn't forget. Of course, she didn't forget. Why did he even doubt her?

 _Great! See you then._

* * *

Ricken had been at her heel the entire day. The other physicians thought it would be hilarious to sic him at her because she was late. Robin's headache had gotten worse and worse with every question he asked. She had lost patience and was droning him out now. But there was still an irritating buzz around her head. It didn't help that Chrom had been texting her nonstop all day either. And Lon'qu? He hadn't said a word. Dastard.

"Dr. Magus!" Robin finally snapped, interrupting Ricken's rambling.

"Yes, Dr. Grima?" he gulped, alarmed at her sudden change of attitude. She had been so pleasant so far, unlike the other doctors.

"Go home," Robin sighed. "Go spend time with your friends or something. It's Friday."

"But I haven't finished my shift," Ricken protested.

"I insist. I authorize you to leave," Robin forced a smile.

"But-," Ricken opened his mouth to protest again.

" _I insist_ ," Robin warned with a tone of finality.

"Okay, have a nice weekend, Dr. Grima," he nodded and headed off.

Robin let out a long sigh and buried her face into her arms as she rested on the counter of the nurses' station. She was almost done. So far, there were no emergencies.

"Long day?" a familiar voice chuckled.

"Mmmfgh," she groaned from underneath. Robin lifted her head as if she was lifting thirty pounds with her neck. "Hey, Phila."

"Hey, Robin," she smiled and rubbed Robin's back. "Almost there. Twenty more minutes."

"Yeah, almost there," Robin murmured. "They forced Ricken on me. Because I was late."

Phila snorted, and then laughed at Robin. She heard rumours about the overly enthusiastic intern who was often used as a form of punishment to the more experienced physicians.

"Oh, screw you," Robin glared.

"Oh, I needed a good laugh," Phila pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. "Anyway, Maribelle asked me to give these to you." Phila offered two sheets of paper carefully folded up.

"What is it?" Robin took them and began to unfold them.

"Movie tickets. She can't go. Turns out she didn't realize she double-booked her date with Stahl and her movie date with you," Phila explained.

"You're kidding me. She chose _him_ over me?" Robin complained. "Argh, I was looking forward to it."

"Before you ask. No, can't go," Phila jumped the gun on Robin. "I promised Miriel I'd help her with pipetting at Ylisstol U. It'll be nice to go back. It's been a while. Apparently, her lab assistant has tendonitis in his thumb. Or so he claims."

Robin's lips tightened. "You sure you wanna do that for her?"

"What? Why?" Phila raised both eyebrows in question.

"I did it once and I was in the lab until four in the morning with her. And I'm pretty sure I got tendonitis in my thumb too," Robin admitted.

Phila cursed under her breath. "She told me it was going be easy!"

"It is. It's just the sheer amount she makes you do that is hard."

"Wanna come with—?"

"Nope. You're on your own."

"You're cruel."

"Meh," Robin shrugged. "I learned my lesson."

"You seem more heartless than usual. It's it 'cause of the movie?" Phila asked.

"She didn't even text me about it!" Robin threw her hands up in the air. She dug in her pocket and whipped out her phone. Nevermind, apparently she did.

"She did, didn't she?" Phila chuckled. "She told me she'd let you know and to get the tickets to you."

"First Lon'qu. And now, Maribelle," Robin grumbled. "I don't want to do paperwork!" she glared at the stack of files in front of her.

"You seem like you're in a crappy mood. Bad day?" Phila inquired.

Robin pursed her lips. "Lon'qu and I had a fight this morning. So I stormed off and took the subway. That's why I was late for work. As a result, I got Intern Magus for the entire day. I have this awful headache and Chrom isn't helping either! He won't stop texting me!"

"You fought with your bodyguard?" Phila asked flatly. "How exactly does one fight with their bodyguard? Do you guys spar or something?"

"Not funny," Robin made a face. "He's not exactly a bodyguard. He's more like…I have no idea how to explain what he is."

"Eh, he'll get over it," Phila shrugged. "Men tend to forget things like this by the end of the day."

"You don't know Lon'qu," Robin shook her head. "He's like you. He _remembers_ things."

"Just act like nothing happened," Phila patted Robin on the back. "I'm sure he feels uncomfortable right now too." Phila took one look at Robin's face and added, "You're definitely overthinking this."

"Okay," Robin quietly agreed.

"And as for Stalk—, wait. Really enthusiastic, determined guy…you're meeting him later aren't you?" Phila asked.

Robin glanced at the clock. It was almost four thirty. "Yeah, around five."

"Why don't you ask him to the movies?" Phila suggested off-handedly.

"Hmm?" Robin started to do her homework. Phila simply watched Robin, waiting for a real answer. "Wait, what?"

"Ask him to go with you. Knowing you, you won't go alone, so they'll go to waste. This late into the evening, most of our friends have plans anyway," Phila elaborated.

Robin's hand stopped moving. She lifted her gaze from the paperwork to Phila. "Are you crazy? I can't _encourage_ this."

"Why not?" Phila raised an eyebrow. "If I were an important figure like your father, I'd much rather have you seeing a police officer than some _rando_ who won't be able to keep an eye on you."

Robin opened her mouth to tell Phila she had lost her mind, but nothing came out.

"Wait, are you one of those people with an arranged marriage?" Phila stared at Robin suspiciously.

"N-No! What is this? The Falchion Era?" Robin snapped.

"Well, then there's nothing stopping you, is there?" Phila smirked.

Damn it. She fell for it.

"You should hurry up. Or you'll be late for your date," Phila teased.

"I think you should go too," said a cranky voice.

Robin spun around. "H-hey, Carol. Did you hear all of that?" she nervously laughed.

"Yes, dear," Carol waddled around to enter the nurses' station. She took a seat in front of Robin. "If it's that weird cop who;s obsessed with you…he didn't seem that bad. Annoying, yes. But not bad."

"Wow, Nurse Carol doesn't _hate_ him. That's like a king's approval," Phila laughed.

"Stop pressuring me," Robin groaned.

Phila rolled her eyes. "Well, lucky for you. You don't look like you rolled out of bed today. And your outfit doesn't look like you forgot to do laundry."

"Thanks," Robin dryly said, all the while looking down at her outfit.

"She should just do it, right?" Phila smiled at Carol.

"Agreed, Dr. Lance," Carol droned while organizing patient files.

* * *

The espresso maker hissed each time the barista made a customer's order. People were bustling about in the twenty-four hour café—some were students from Ylisstol U and others were friends catching up and couples on dates. The two-floor café appeared to have been renovated since Chrom last came by years ago. The café had slightly dimmed lights, and all the furniture had been replaced with wooden tables and matching chairs.

Chrom's leg kept bouncing in anticipating. He brought up his wrist to check the time. She was two minutes late. Maybe he should grab a drink so he didn't look like a loner. He had purposely made sure to grab a table near the window so he could see her coming. He leaned back in his seat.

Now she was three minutes late.

Be patient, Chrom. Pretend that you're out on a stakeout for a criminal suspect. But this time, you're not with Vaike, so it'll be bearable.

He took a deep breath and let it out. Maybe he'd play 'Jelly Crush'. Damn. This was the last time he asked Vaike what he should do on his vacation. The stupid game on his phone was addicting. Chrom took his phone out and placed it facing down on the table top.

Another unbearable five minutes crawled by. What if he was being stood up? Wait, they weren't on a date. She was just dropping off the blazer he had lent her. She was going to come.

Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a long ponytail. He had meant to nonchalantly knock on the widow, but he ended up slapping his palm on it. Oops.

Some of the customers near him jumped and gave him a funny look. He also startled the woman with the ponytail, because she dropped her paper bag and had her hand against her chest.

It was her.

Robin's eyebrows were furrowed and she wore a prominent scowl on her face. She glared at him. It was a look he had seen often. Then she started saying something, but he couldn't hear.

"I can't hear you," he mouthed and pointed towards the entrance.

Chrom watched Robin pick up the paper bag and head towards the entrance. He wore a silly grin the entire time. Finally, he saw Robin enter the café and look around to find where he was sitting. Chrom waved his hand and Robin spotted him. She slowly made her way to him.

"Hey, have a seat," Chrom gestured to the chair across from him.

"Here," Robin placed the bag on the table. "I had it dry cleaned. Thanks for lending it to me last time."

She didn't want to sit. That would confirm that this was okay. She was just dropping off his blazer. If she lingered, that would mean Lon'qu was right. Okay, partially right.

"Are you going to sit down? I want to talk to you about something," Chrom asked hesitantly.

Robin stared at him and bit her lip. She glanced to her side, out the window. They were too exposed to the public.

"Can we sit somewhere else?" Robin carefully replied. Five minutes wouldn't hurt.

"Yeah, of course," Chrom stood up from his seat, "Where do you wanna sit?"

"Upstairs?" Robin suggested, still keeping an eye out the window.

"Why don't you grab a seat upstairs? I can grab us drinks," Chrom offered.

Drinks. That might take longer than five minutes. No, that was fine. Robin could chug a hot drink. She did it all the time during her med school years with coffee and all the teas she could get her hands on. Heck, she still did it at the hospital when she was on the graveyard shift and she was desperate.

"I can pay for myself," Robin pulled out her wallet.

"No. I need to pay you back for the dry-cleaning bill," Chrom smiled.

"No, really. It's fine. I can pay for myself," Robin pulled out a card.

"Sorry, our debit-credit machine is down. We're only taking cash," one of the employees behind them told them.

"Oh," Robin checked to see if she had cash. Nothing, just a couple coins.

"I have cash on me. Seriously, Robin. It's fine. Let me," Chrom pleaded.

"Okay," Robin gave in.

"What would you like?" he asked.

"Could I get an earl grey latte?" Robin requested.

"Of course, you can," Chrom gave her a smile and a thumbs-up. "You head upstairs."

Without another word, Robin made her way to the second floor of the café. The moment she did, Chrom turned around to face the employee. "I'm going to tell the manager, you need a raise. You're a fantastic employee."

"Umm…thank you?" the employee gave Chrom a confused look.

Once Robin reached the top of the stairs, she realized that they were going to be only two on the second floor. She peaked over the edge of the barrier and saw Chrom waiting for the drinks.

This was a mistake. Her head felt dizzy and her heart kept fluttering in her chest. She clutched her hands, trying to calm her nerves.

Just five minutes.

She just had to play at his game for five minutes. That's all she had to do. It was that simple. Then she'd tell him that she needed to leave because of a prior engagement. Robin Grima could manage that much, right?

Robin wandered about and chose a random table. She sat down. Maybe she would check her phone. She opened her bag and dug through it. She shuffled through her chapstick, the little pouch that contained her pads and tampons, a pen, and the movie tickets. She paused, staring intently at them at the bottom of her bag.

 _Ask him to go with you._

"Shut up, Phila," Robin hissed under her breath. She pushed aside the movie tickets and found her phone. She pulled it out and tapped in her password.

No new notifications. Maybe Lon'qu _was_ angry at her.

Who cares! He overstepped! She wasn't _foolish_.

"I don't know if this'll suffice, since it is almost dinner time," Chrom admitted as he walked towards her with the drinks.

Robin threw her phone back into her bag. Chrom kindly passed her drink to her. "Thank you," she blushed. If only she had cash, then she wouldn't be indebted to him.

Chrom sat down in the seat across from her. He watched her take a sip. She let out a small cry and immediately put down the cup. "Careful, it's really hot."

"Yeah," Robin glared at her latte.

"I think they re-did the place," said Chrom.

Robin looked around her. "They did. Two years ago."

"I haven't been here I graduated," Chrom laughed.

"It's pretty close to the hospital, so we come here often. When it was closed for renos, everyone went crazy and went into caffeine withdrawal," Robin laughed.

A smile spread across Chrom's face. It was really nice to hear her laugh. She usually had a serious expression instead of a smile.

"What?" Robin asked.

"Nothing," Chrom shook him head, still smiling at her.

"So…um…what did you need to talk about?" Robin tried to drink her latte again.

"Hmm?" Chrom responded.

"You said you needed to talk to me about something?" Robin tried to job his memory.

"Oh, right," Chrom nodded, his smile fading. "I-I…how was your day?"

"Fine," Robin lied. Who was she kidding? Her day sucked.

Chrom waited for Robin to reciprocate the question, but only a silence followed. "I had an okay day. And then it got a lot better."

"Yeah? Why is that?" Robin asked.

"Because I got to see you," he answered.

Robin felt heat rise to her face, so she immediately dropped her gaze, trying to hide her blush. "I see…" she murmured.

Maybe that was a little too strong. "I mean, I haven't seen anyone today," Chrom added quickly. "So it's nice to have some human interaction."

"Oh," Robin nodded. There was a bit of disappointment tinged in words. "Right."

Then, Chrom's phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID: Sumia. "Do you mind?" Chrom asked apologetically.

"It's fine. Take the call," said Robin.

"Hey, Sumia," Chrom picked up the phone.

That sounded like a girl's name, Robin noted.

"Movie? Tonight?" Chrom parroted into the phone.

Robin perked up at the words, staring at him intently.

"I…umm…" Chrom glanced up at Robin. She blinked back at him, wordlessly. "Sorry, Sumia. I can't. Maybe another time? Thanks for checking in on me though. Okay, bye."

"Do you need to be somewhere?" Robin asked.

"Nope," Chrom turned his phone on silent. "Really sorry about that."

"Seriously, don't worry about it," Robin waved her hand. "What time is it?"

"A little past five thirty," Chrom replied after checking his watch.

Damn it. It was well over five minutes. She was lingering. Why couldn't she leave?

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"No," Robin shook her head. To her horror, at that moment, her stomach grumbled.

Chrom laughed at her. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Robin nodded. Her stomach grumbled again. Oh Gods, this was so embarrassing. Her stomach made her sound like a whale making a mating call. Then she remembered, she skipped lunch.

"I think your body's saying otherwise," Chrom chuckled. "Should we go out?"

"Huh?" Robin exclaimed.

"I mean, to find food," Chrom stuttered.

"Oh, yeah," Robin laughed nervously. "Sorry, I must've misheard you."

"I know this great place that does hamburgers. It's owned by a Feroxi man, so it'll probably be spicy. Are you okay with spicy?"

She hadn't even agreed to him yet and he was making plans by himself already.

There was still an hour and a half left until the movie started. She really wanted to go…but she didn't want to go alone. If she agreed to Chrom's proposition, that would mean they would lose commuting time to the movie theater, which would take about forty-five minutes by subway anyway. Robin had no idea why Maribelle always insisted on going to gigantic theatre outside of downtown.

"Or do you have other plans?" Chrom hesitantly asked after Robin had grown quiet.

Which was worse? Going to the movies with Chrom or by herself? Or she could always go back home and awkwardly deal with Lon'qu.

"I did, but they got cancelled," Robin smiled sadly.

It couldn't be that bad. How bad could it be? Just one movie. It wasn't like she was going to fall in love with him after _one movie_. That was just plain stupid. Or as Lon'qu said this morning, _foolish_.

"Well, if you want, I could keep you company," Chrom offered shyly.

"Did you ever read _Fire Emblem_?" Robin asked.

"Did I?" Chrom repeated enthusiastically. "That was my all-time favorite book as a kid! My sisters and I made my parents read it to us every night, growing up. The unabridged version."

A smile grew on Robin's face. "Actually, same."

"Really? I think it's fascinating that it's based on true historical events. Or legend, as a lot of people claim," Chrom said excitedly. "Wait, didn't they make a movie recently?"

"Yeah, today's the first night it's playing in theaters," Robin confirmed.

"I wonder if they'll do it justice," Chrom thought aloud.

"Do you want to find out?" Robin grinned and then immediately fell silent.

Shit. That just came out. Why? Why did she say that?

Chrom studied Robin for a moment. Her eyes were slightly widened and lips tight. She looked like she had just made a huge mistake.

"Robin?" Chrom called her.

Her name sounded so nice on his tongue. She wanted to hear it again.

"Sorry," Robin shook her head, trying to come back to her senses.

"You just blanked out for a second there," Chrom gave her a concerned look.

Here goes. She'd prove Lon'qu that he was wrong. There was nothing going on.

"So…you know how I said that my plans got cancelled?" Robin started.

"Yeah," Chrom nodded slowly.

"Well, I was supposed to go see 'The Fall of Grima', which is the movie adaptation of 'Fire Emblem', with my friend. We pre-booked tickets weeks in advance, since she's a huge fan of the story too. But she accidentally double-booked a date with her boyfriend today. And she chose her boyfriend," Robin grumbled.

"Uh-huh," Chrom nodded slowly again. Trying to follow along.

"I have the tickets, and the movie's at seven. Do you want to go with me?" Robin met his eyes, with a slight rosy blush on her cheeks.

"Oh," Chrom nodded again. "Oh," Chrom repeated a lot louder. Was she asking him out?

How could he say 'no' when she looked at him like that?

Damn, she beat him to it. He meant to ask her out. He didn't think she'd say 'yes', so he was prepared to ask a couple times.

"If you're busy, that's fine," Robin quickly added.

"No," Chrom shook his head. Of course he wasn't busy! He was on his vacation.

"No?" Robin's face fell a little.

"No, I mean, yeah, I'd love to go," Chrom's smile widened eagerly. He felt high. If this went well, they could spend time together and do things couples did together! And it was kind of hot that she asked him out.

"Like as friends. It wouldn't be a date or anything," Robin quickly added. They counted as friends…right?

Chrom's happiness literally crumbled, along with his smile at those words: 'as friends'.

"Y-yeah. Should we head out?" Chrom recovered. He could work with this. It was a start. He'd ask her out after the movie.

"Let's," Robin beamed, collecting her stuff.

* * *

If the subway hadn't been crowded before, it definitely was now. A fresh wave of commuters had crammed their way into the cart. They made a pack of sardines look spacious. It was starting to get hot and Robin swore someone's armpit was right behind her head. The handgrip she had been clinging to felt like it was slipping away from her fingers. But that wasn't her biggest problem. Robin's cheek was pressed against Chrom's chest at that moment.

"I'm so sorry, I'm invading your space," Robin apologized into his chest.

"Don't worry about it," Chrom flushed.

The subway jerked. Her pads of her fingers finally slipped off the handgrip. She thought she was going to fall, but Chrom wrapped an arm around her.

"I got you," Chrom reassured. "Don't worry."

"…thanks," Robin buried her face into his chest, hoping it would mask her bright red face. She hated to be admit it, but it felt nice being in his arms. Well, arm. For the first time, she didn't have a strong hatred for public transportation.

Chrom did his best to hide his smile. But he couldn't help it. She was adorable when she was so flustered. The way her face would grow red and her downcast gaze would be slightly hidden by her long lashes.

He slowly took a deep breath in, trying to slow down his pounding heartbeat. Chrom was certain that she could hear it. When he inhaled, he also smelled the warm sweetness of Robin. It was exact same as when she was stitching him up for his blunder last time.

"Next stop, Valencia. Next stop, Valencia," the automated voice announced.

The subway slowed to a stop and opened its doors, barfing out the commuters. Robin thought she would be swept away, but Chrom had a firm hold on her. There was a lot more space, so Robin tried to pull away from him. Chrom felt a slight tug from Robin.

"I think we're okay now," Robin avoided eye contact. He reluctantly brought the arm he had around Robin to his side.

"Y-Yeah," he agreed. He missed her warm body against him already. It felt like she belonged in his arms. That was cheesy.

Robin absentmindedly felt around for a handgrip. Once her hand gripped around one, she held on for dear life.

Chrom cleared his throat. "We're getting off in a couple stops, right?" he asked.

"I think it's three more stops," Robin confirmed.

"We should've taken the car," Chrom chuckled.

"It would've probably taken longer with rush hour," Robin reminded.

"Right," Chrom nodded.

An awkward silence fell between the two. For the rest of the trip, they took turns making poor attempts at a normal conversation.

* * *

"I don't think I can finish a whole bag of popcorn on my own," Robin murmured to herself, as she studied the menu intently. But she didn't want to share with Chrom because knowing her luck, their hands would touch during the movie. Then, she wouldn't be able to focus on the highly-anticipated movie.

"Why don't we share then?" Chrom asked her. "We've been trying to decide for a good fifteen minutes. I'm pretty sure that the cashier has been eyeing us the entire time."

"Really?" Robin glanced at the cashier. Chrom was right. His eyes were fixed on them. Waiting. Anticipating their order eagerly.

Her stomach grumbled again.

"At this rate, you're probably going to eat me or pass out," Chrom teased.

Robin rubbed her stomach as a response. She laughed too at the absurd, yet truthful statement.

"Okay, here's the plan," Robin announced.

"There's a plan?" Chrom chuckled.

"We gotta get the best out of this," Robin chopped her one hand into the palm of her other hand.

"Explain away," Chrom tried not to laugh at her.

"We could go with Combo D, where we could get two large popcorns and two large drinks with the small candy on the side. Or we could go with Combo B, where we get two medium popcorns and two regular drinks," Robin explained. "But the price difference is about two G's and fifty-four sils. So it might be better to go with Combo D pricewise, but I don't want us to waste food."

"I don't think I can eat that much popcorn on my own," Chrom confessed.

"Okay, what do you suggest then?" Robin inquired.

"How about Combo A?" Chrom suggested after looking at the menu.

It was the one she was avoiding: the one large popcorn, two drinks, and small candy on the side. That was actually the most optimal option, but she didn't want to pick that one for a specific reason.

"No?" Chrom waited for her answer.

She bit her lip, and then finally said, "Sure."

She touched people all the time. How big of a deal would it be to touch his hand?

"Let me pay, you paid for the tickets," Chrom insisted.

"Let's split it even," Robin offered.

"Nah, I got this," Chrom declined, already heading up to the cashier. "I heard it was difficult to get tickets for 'The Fall of Grima', so please, let me."

"But you already paid for my drink at Risen," Robin followed after him. "Let's just split it even."

"That was for the dry-cleaning bill," Chrom volleyed back. "We're going to miss the movie if you keep arguing with me," he teased again.

Robin sighed, giving in.

* * *

A dark screen popped up and began to scroll through the credits. The lights gradually brightened the full theater. People began to get up from their seats to head out. Except for two people.

Robin sat there, with firmly pursed lips. Chrom wore a grimace.

Robin didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell what was worse—the fact that the director and writer took way too much creative liberty or the way the Plegians were villainized yet _again_ by the movie industry. The movie was so awful that she hadn't even noticed that Chrom was beside her.

"What did we just watch?" Chrom finally broke the silence.

"I have no idea," Robin said with thorough disgust as she picked at the popcorn bag, which somehow ended up in her lap halfway through the movie.

Chrom looked around to see if anyone else enjoyed the monstrosity of a film adaptation. "Did we miss something? Everyone else seemed like they enjoyed it…"

"That was awful," Robin finally spat. "What _was_ that?"

Chrom laughed, "Yeah, I know."

"The tactician just changed sexes throughout the movie. Like what in the Gods' names was that? Is it supposed to be symbolic?" Robin demanded. "The tactician was a 'he' when they were going to battle, but in the intimate scenes with prince, the tactician was a 'she'. That's just sexist. It's like they couldn't _decide_. He literally grew ponytails and boobs when there was a sexual scene, and then suddenly, BAM, she grew a penis when they went off to fight the dragon. It was like they were using sexuality and gender as some cheap convenience in the movie."

"I really don't know," Chrom was dumbfounded by the entire ordeal. "I think depending on the version you read, the tactician is either a man or woman. Maybe they got greedy and wanted to take all the versions into consideration?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure I just ruined your Friday by inviting you to this sad excuse of a movie," Robin sighed. "Sorry."

"Nah, I thought it was kinda hilarious. It was really absurd," Chrom chuckled. "The warrior zombies was kinda the highlight of the entire movie."

"Yeah, seriously. Half the movie was fighting zombies," Robin agreed.

"Should we leave?" Chrom nudged Robin.

"Sure," Robin followed after Chrom.

As they left the theater and entered the bustling lobby area, Chrom mentioned something. "You know, I just realized the dragon had the same name as your last name. Weird, huh?"

"Don't worry, I won't turn into some monster and try to kill you," Robin rolled her eyes and chuckled.

Chrom laughed, "I'd like to see you try."

"They really villainized Plegians again. That was really annoying to watch," Robin grumbled. "We're not all dark, bloodthirsty barbarians. Stupid stereotype."

"I know. You're definitely not a heartless barbarian. It's unfortunate, but even today, Plegians do get racially profiled in Ylisse a lot," Chrom sighed.

Chrom and Robin made their way out of the theater and headed back to the subway station. It was already pretty dark and still fairly cold for a late spring night.

"What did you think of the ending?" Robin asked. "I thought it was fitting. The tactician ultimately sacrifices herself for everyone."

"Really? I thought it was selfish," Chrom admitted.

The two waited at the crosswalk with the fresh crowd that had come out of the theater. Cars zoomed by as the two stood side by side.

"Why is that? It was for the better good," Robin replied.

"Mmm…they could've just put the dragon back to sleep for another century or two. But instead, the prince lost the love of his life because the tactician believed by herself that this was the best decision," Chrom explained. "Oh, let's cross."

The green walking man flashed as the crowd crossed the long stretch of the concrete with a striped zebra pattern.

"But wouldn't that make the prince selfish?" Robin questioned.

"Why?" Chrom's eyebrows furrowed a little.

"Because that's what _he_ wanted. And that wouldn't help the world situation then," Robin reminded.

"Well, Robin. Would you want the love of your life to sacrifice himself?" Chrom tried to reason with her.

"No, but if it's for the better good…" Robin slowly thought out loud.

"No, right?" Chrom interrupted her.

"Wait, no, Chrom. What's one life for the peace of the world?"

"But that one life is just as important as a king's or a homeless person," said Chrom. "Why is it fair to put that kind of responsibility on one person?"

Once they reached the other end of the crossroad, Robin stopped in her tracks, trying to digest Chrom's opinion. Chrom didn't notice and took a couple steps and then stopped. He glanced back to see Robin with knitted eyebrows, clutching her bag. He backtracked and stood in front of her. Maybe he said something that upset her.

"I can't quite wrap my head around your logic," Robin looked up at him.

"Hmm. Well, I see it like this. I think it's selfish to put someone that loves you in that much pain. To leave them behind, letting you taking all the burden. If I were in the prince's position, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. Because I would always feel like I could've and should've done more to save everyone, especially the person I love. I believe that everyone deserves to be happy. No one should force that kind of tremendous amount of responsibilities on themselves when they have others to rely on," Chrom softly spoke.

Robin's eyes widened at his words.

"Besides, he loved her," Chrom added sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck. "The scene where the prince started crying was the only scene where the acting wasn't terrible, so it was believable."

She didn't expect that. Not from the dorky officer who couldn't let anything go, even for small petty 'crimes' (as he would probably call them) such as jaywalking.

Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt light-headed. Her hands trembled as she stared at Chrom. The air around them felt electrifying. It was difficult to breathe. At that moment, she understood the phrase 'having butterflies in one's stomach'.

His words were…touching.

"What?" Chrom chuckled at her. "We should get going, I don't want you catching a cold."

"Yeah," Robin nodded quietly.

"Actually, let's catch a cab," Chrom suggested. He walked away to the side and waved a cab over. "May I drop you off?"

Robin gave a muted nod.

A cab pulled over to the side and Chrom opened the door. He gestured Robin over. She did as she was expected and slid into the seat. Chrom closed the door for her and ran around the other side to sit. All the while, Robin had her hand against her chest, trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

"Where to?" the cab driver asked.

"We'll be dropping off the lady first," Chrom smiled. "Robin?"

"Ah, sorry," Robin coughed. "Seraph Towers."

"Wow, I didn't know you lived there. I heard that's a really nice place to live in," Chrom commented.

"Yeah," Robin murmured. "The owner's crazy though," she chuckled nervously.

The drive was fairly quiet. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Chrom was struggling to not fine the cab driver for possibly breaking every traffic rule. Robin giggled. Chrom turned his head to look at what she was laughing at.

"Relax," Robin giggled and whispered, "Officer."

She smiled and stared at the window and watched the night lights of the city of Ylisstol dazzle her wonderful Friday evening. She noticed from the landmarks, they were getting closer to her home. Once they began to drive pass Ephraim Park, Robin tapped Chrom and pointed out the window. He chuckled with her, fully knowing that was where they first ran into each other.

The taxi came to a stop in front of the luxury condominium building and Robin began to dig in her bag for her wallet.

"Robin, just go. Don't worry about," Chrom pleaded. "Can we not fight about this just this one time?"

"Okay," Robin sighed. "Thanks, Chrom."

Robin got out of the taxi and started heading towards the entrance, but then she heard something.

"Wait, Robin," Chrom called from the car window. He immediately opened and ran out the door. "Just give me two minutes," he asked the cab driver.

"What is it?" Robin turned around to face him.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now," Chrom started.

"Yes?" Robin waited.

Okay, he had to be cool. Just blurt it out, Chrom. Just do it! It's now or never.

"Okay, just hear me out, okay? Okay," Chrom nodded to himself.

Robin stared at him nervously. What in Naga's name was he going to pull now? A fine? Ask if he could come upstairs for a "coffee"?

"Would you like to have dinner with me next week? Sometime? Only if you're free. I know you're busy. But I really like you," Chrom began to ramble.

Robin felt a flaming heat rising from her neck to the top of her head.

"I know a nice place that does amazing dinners. Just give me a chance. I promise I won't try to fine you or chase you on a bike. Sorry, that was a joke…you don't even have to show up if you decide to change your mind last minute. You don't have to answer me now. Just please consider it," Chrom finished.

"I-I…umm…what will you do if I don't show up?" That was all she could formulate into a coherent sentence.

"Oh…" Chrom's shoulders drooped a little. "Probably wait at the restaurant for several hours. Then once I realize you're not coming, I'll probably go mope at home. Maybe go to the Shepherds."

Okay, maybe he shouldn't have confessed that…he sounded kind of pathetic.

"Yes," Robin agreed enthusiastically.

"What?" Chrom gave her an alarmed look.

"Yes!" Robin said a little louder with a wide smile. "Yes, I'll have dinner with you."

"She said 'yes'!" Chrom excitedly yelled at the cab behind her.

"Hurry up!" the cab driver hollered back.

"You should go. You shouldn't keep cab drivers waiting," Robin smiled coyly. "I'm going to head up."

"Okay, see you next week? I'll call or text you?" said Chrom.

"Yeah, I'll be waiting," Robin nodded with a pleasant energy.

"Okay, then. Bye," Chrom waved and hopped back in the cab.

Robin watched the cab pull away from the sidewalk and drive away. She had a smile on her face as she waved goodbye. She had a really nice night. It had been a while since she had a nice night out.

She hummed happily as she entered the lobby and headed for the elevators. Then the thought of having to see Lon'qu dawned on her.

But the thought that came after that unnerved her most: Lon'qu was right.

She was _foolish_.

 **Author's Notes:**

Ahhh! Finally! They're going to hook up :D! I kinda got the vibe that it was just entirely awkward when I was writing...anyone else? Was it difficult to read?

By the way, anyone catch some foreshadowing? *wink wink nudge nudge*

Thanks for reading another chapter! Let me know what you thought! :)


	13. Friction

**Chapter 13: Friction**

Robin hesitated in front of the door. Her hand hovered over the electronic lock, then she withdrew it close to her chest. She had tried to slide open key pad for the last fifteen minutes, but was unsuccessful so far. She groaned in frustration and paced around outside the door.

She had a problem: she couldn't lie to Lon'qu. He was one of the few people, where lying became a challenge for Robin.

The guilt and shame ate away at her. Robin bit her lip as she paced around a bit longer. Maybe she overreacted this morning. Maybe he was really mad at her. He hadn't texted her at all the entire day after their argument.

Her ears perked up the second she heard the electronic gears turning with its accompanied melody and the door abruptly open. Startled, she gasped and felt her stomach almost fall out of her.

Lon'qu stood in front of her with one hand firmly wrapped around the door handle. "I can hear you pacing and mumbling to yourself outside. Hurry up and come in. It's cold out." He wore his usual scowl and his work glasses glared at her from her angle. It was like they were a married couple, except Lon'qu was the upset wife and Robin, the disobedient (potentially cheating) husband.

"H-Hey," Robin quietly murmured, glancing up at Lon'qu as she entered the house.

While keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, she slipped off her shoes. Wordlessly, he headed back to where he was working: his usual couch with his laptop resting on the coffee table.

Robin cleared her throat as she put away her shoes in the closet. "So…how was your day?"

"Fine," he answered.

"Did you eat?" Robin asked, settling down on the other couch.

"Yeah." Lon'qu leaned back into the couch.

"The movie was awful," Robin said with an awkward chuckle.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He crossed his arms.

"Are you still angry?" Robin asked carefully.

"No," he said.

"You sure?" Robin tilted her head to the side to get a better angle of Lon'qu's face. It was slightly turned away from her general direction.

"Yes," he said.

She wasn't persuaded with words nor his body language. She chewed the inside of her mouth for a while, contemplating what she could do. Then, Robin got up from her seat. Usually, Lon'qu would at least glance in her direction and show a bit of interest in what she was doing, but he didn't move. It made her feel miserable. She shuffled her way in front of him. Letting him leave when they were on rocky terms was the last thing she was going to allow to happen.

"Then why won't you look at me?" Robin stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"What do you want from me, Robin?" Lon'qu's frustration seeped into his words, still not making eye contact.

Robin squatted down in front of Lon'qu. She planted her hands on Lon'qu's face and turned his head, forcing him to look at her. She wore a hurt expression, her eyes flickering about, studying his face. His eyebrows were knitted into one another in the perpetual frown he usually sported and his lips were pulled into a dissatisfied slant.

"I'm not angry at you." He gently placed his larger hands over Robin's. Lon'qu felt his face becoming warmer as the seconds crawled by.

"I'm sorry," Robin earnestly apologized. "I know you were just doing what was best for me."

"I'm not angry at you." He repeated. "I'm angry at myself." His hands slid Robin's hands off of his face. Lon'qu was certain Robin could tell that he was blushing from embarrassment now. "I should trust you more."

The guilt flooded in, drowning her. "O-Oh," Robin stood up, establishing a bit of a distance between the again. She nervously laughed. Why was he doing this to her? "I overstepped. And I acted like a spoiled brat this morning."

"I know you have good judgement," said Lon'qu.

"It's okay." Robin sat down in her seat. "I should apologize. You were doing your job." Another pause. "So, are we okay then?"

"Yeah." Lon'qu gave her a small, rare smile.

"Okay." Robin nodded.

She hadn't realized how much their early morning bickering stressed him out. But she had a bigger problem to deal with. At the back of her mind, the guilt was festering, consuming her like a starved demon.

"What did Maribelle think of the movie?" Lon'qu asked off-handedly.

"Huh? Sorry? What?" Robin snapped her attention back to him.

"What did Maribelle think of the movie?" he repeated.

"Oh…" Robin paused. "She thought it was awful too."

She did it. She lied to him.

"I'm actually really tired. I think I'll head to bed." She stood up and headed to her room.

"Robin?" Lon'qu called.

She froze on the spot. "Y-Yeah?"

"Can you promise me something?" Lon'qu asked.

She frowned slightly and turned around to face him. "What is it?" Robin retraced a couple steps.

"Will you keep trusting me when things start to fall apart?" His voice sounded so raw. She felt a shiver go up her spine.

For some strange reason, fear crept into her heart. It was so out of character. It was almost as if she never knew who Lon'qu was. He was just another stranger in this lonely world. She held a hand close to her chest, subconsciously hoping it would provide some form of protection.

"Where did that come from?" Robin chuckled, but it immediately died off when she realized the gravity of the question.

Lon'qu's eyes were intensely fixed on her, waiting for an answer. Her lips were pressed tightly together, not uttering a sound. A pregnant silence loomed over the two. Her throat went dry, robbing her the ability to speak.

She swallowed before talking again. "You're tired. Go to bed," she quietly ordered and turned around. Robin didn't stop until her door was closed behind her.

"Everything will be okay tomorrow," she told her lonesome self in her room.

 _We'll pretend nothing ever happened, and continue on our lives tomorrow. Like none of this ever happened. Let's forget all of this._

* * *

Lon'qu closed his eyes and sank into the couch once Robin's door clicked shut. He felt Robin distancing herself from him. He pulled out his phone and made a call.

"You're going to have to keep an eye on her."

* * *

For a moment, Robin leaned against the closed door. Exhaustion seeped into her body. A heavy sigh left her lips. Once she felt that she mustered enough energy to get across the room to her bed, she pushed her body off the door and took it one step at a time.

First, she threw her bag onto the bed. Then she threw herself onto the bed, sinking into her welcoming, comfy blanket. Thoughts swirled around in her head like a whirlpool. She dug her hand into her bag and pulled out her phone. She tapped in her password and saw several new texts: there was one from Chrom and several from Phila.

Robin smiled. Two of the people she was actually fond of. She decided to start with Phila.

 _SAVE ME. THERE'S THOUSANDS OF SAMPLES TO PROCESS._

 _SHE'S EYEING ME WITH THAT LOOK IN HER EYE. YOU KNOW "THE LOOK"_

Robin laughed. Of course she knew 'the look'. She had helped out Miriel more than once during their university years.

 _I CAN'T FEEL MY RIGHT THUMB. SAVE ME, ROBIN._

Yup…that tended to happen after pipetting nonstop for hours on end. Especially at the rate Miriel pushed for.

 _tectinh wirh mu [inkies mow_

Robin frowned at the last one. What the hell did that mean? She tapped on Phila's name and dialed. Robin pressed her cell against her ear and waited several rings, but Phila didn't pick up. Phila was probably out of commission right now. Robin hung up. She decided to text Phila.

 _So, I took him to the movies instead. Like you suggested. Hope you're proud of yourself. We asked me out to dinner for next Friday._

Robin could already imagine the smug grin Phila was going to give her at work. She sent another text.

 _And may Naga have mercy on your hands. Lucky for you, all you have to do is hold a pen and not a scalpel. You'll be fine._

Robin checked the text from Chrom next. Her thumb tapped her screen a couple times and opened her conversation with 'Police Stalker'.

 _I had really nice time with you. Thank you._

A smile bloomed on Robin face. The guilt she had felt earlier dissipated. Robin giggled, feeling a lot better and she buried her face into her blanket, trying to cool her blush. She had to respond, it was the right thing to do.

 _Me too. Can't wait to see you again next Friday. :)_

* * *

The phone continued to ring into Robin's ear. Her lips twisted to the side. Odd. This was the fifth phone call to Phila and she still didn't pick up. Finally, Robin hung up and tossed her phone beside her and flopped onto the couch.

"Lon'qu!" Robin elongated the last part of his name.

"What?" Lon'qu called from his room.

"I'm really bored!" Robin hollered. "Let's go out."

"Robin, I'm busy," Lon'qu yelled back.

Lon'qu was rarely busy. He was always available to do almost everything she requested. Curiously, Robin rolled off the couch and landed on all fours like a feline. She picked herself up and scurried off to Lon'qu room.

Robin peeked her head into the room. Lon'qu had his arms crossed and he was studying his closet. Behind him were two large open suitcases.

Lon'qu watched Robin slip into his room. She tiptoed to his side and stared at his walk-in closet with him. It wasn't nearly as large as the one Robin had, but it was still spacious with its numerous drawers and shelves. (Not that either of them actually used the closets to their fullest potential.) Lon'qu had made a conscious decision to not try to fill up all the space and favoured to simply organize his clothes to one section.

"Do you have a hot date? Need some help coordinating an outfit?" Robin joked.

"No," he said.

"You still have about five days to pack." Robin reminded. "It's not like you have a lot to pack either."

He didn't. He just had some clothes and a couple personal belongings.

"You could leave some stuff behind, since you'll be back in six months," said Robin.

"I need to clear my stuff out for Priam." Lon'qu pointed out the little detail that reminded Robin of the dread to come.

"Right," said Robin with distaste. She didn't say anything for a couple moments. Then she spoke again. "You don't have to tell me, but what are you going away for?"

Lon'qu momentarily stole his eyes away from calculating how to fit everything into his luggage and looked at Robin. He stared at her intently. It didn't hurt to tell her. She already knew that he had a sister because of that one time.

The silence made Robin uncomfortable and she quickly added. "Like I said, if you don't—."

Lon'qu interrupted her. "It's because of my sister. She's in the hospital."

"Oh." She nodded, surprised he even answered a personal question. Several questions popped up in Robin's head. Her curiosity was egging her to pry, but she firmly chose to keep her curious cat at bay, in case her curiosity killed it.

Lon'qu scratched the back of his neck as he peered around his neatly organized mess. He'd have to figure out how to pack all of this by next Thursday.

Robin glanced at him, noting the tenseness in his shoulders. She reached and massaged his shoulders. He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying to feeling of Robin's fingers try to unknot his muscles. She was really good at this. "Don't worry about it. If it doesn't all fit, we can ship some of the stuff, right? Besides, we need to go shopping for your little sister!"

"Why?" Lon'qu turned around to face Robin, who had yet to change out of her giant baggy t-shirt and shorts. Curses, she decided to wear that damned Ylisstol Med t-shirt without a bra again.

Robin crossed her arms almost as if she knew what he was thinking and lectured. "Silly, Lon-lon. You should get her a gift. Or gifts. It's basic etiquette. So, let's go shopping!"

In the end, Robin still managed to fit in her objective in the conversation: shopping.

"Robin, I don't have time for this." Lon'qu frowned at her. "And stop calling me Lon-lon. It's already hard enough trying to get Ke'ri to stop calling me that."

"You have tons of time. You always over-plan like crazy." Robin jabbed. "And you always have free time leftover in the end, so why not go shopping for your little sister. I can help."

Lon'qu sighed. "Why don't you go with Phila? I'll give you guys a ride."

"Phila's out of commission," Robin said seriously. "Her thumbs are probably broken. She hasn't picked up the phone in a while. Either her phone is dead, or she fell asleep in the research lab." Robin murmured under her breath, "There's no way she'd let me off the hook after the tidbit of gossip I tossed her."

Lon'qu raised an eyebrow. Robin laughed. "Long story. Come on, let's go!" Robin grinned and grabbed Lon'qu's arm and began dragging him out of his room and into the living room. "You sit there." Robin ordered and pushed him towards the couches. "I'll be quick!"

"Fine," he said.

Lon'qu watched Robin's long ponytail bounce behind her as she retreated back to her room to change. After five minutes, Robin re-emerged from her room changed into a pair of tight-fitting pants and a V-neck t-shirt. A pair of sunglasses were resting on the top of her head, and she had a small leather bag slung across her body.

"Let's go!" Robin said enthusiastically, punching the air.

Lon'qu peeled himself off the couch and followed Robin. She pranced to the exit and opened the shoe closet. She tried to find the right shoes that would go with her simple outfit. While she did this, Lon'qu reached over above her and grabbed a pair of black shoes and dropped them onto the floor. Robin bit her lip and then finally decided on a pair of slim sneakers. They'd probably be doing a lot of walking.

Lon'qu grabbed the keys from the key bowl while Robin finished slipping on her shoes. "Where to?" he asked as he glanced behind him.

"Let's go to The Village." Robin suggested. "They have a lot of cute boutiques and adorable things."

"Okay," Lon'qu opened the door and held it open for her. Robin practically skipped out the door.

* * *

"What's your sister like?" Robin asked as they drove down the street.

"She's a good kid," Lon'qu answered.

Robin sighed. "That's not much to work with. Like kind of stuff is she into? What style of clothes? Interests? Does she like accessories? Does she wear makeup? Come on, help me out here!"

"She's thirteen," he replied.

"You're really bad at this," Robin muttered in the passenger seat. "Could we call her and ask to see if she wants anything from Ylisse?"

His hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. Then, a sound came from Robin's bag. Without wasting a second, she dug into her bag and pulled her phone out. She tapped the screen a couple times and then the ends of her lips curled and her eyes twinkled.

 _The weather's so nice, so I thought of you. How's your day going?_

"Who is it?" Lon'qu came to a full stop at the intersection, behind another car. "Your phone's been going off a lot lately."

"Hmm?" Robin hummed at Lon'qu as she smiled at her phone and responded to whoever it was.

 _I'm going shopping with Lon'qu in The Village. He's going back to Chon'sin next Thursday so I wanted to send some gifts with him for his little sister._

"Robin?" Lon'qu called her name again, pressing the gas pedal.

"Oh, no one." Robin still wore the peculiar smile on her face with a rosy tinge on her cheeks.

Lon'qu hadn't ever seen her smile like that in a while. The last time she smiled like that was when she was back for one of the summers during her med school years. Every time she saw him, she'd smile like that and then tease him every chance she got, while dragging him around everywhere in the bloody Plegian heat.

Robin typed in an answer and sent it. She turned to him and said, "Call your sister. We need to find out more information."

"Do we have to?" asked Lon'qu.

"You're a terrible older brother. Just call her! Wait. Let me do it. You can't be on the phone while you drive. That's illegal," said Robin, remembering that one time she was lectured by Officer Knight during her numerous pull-overs. "Here, hand me your phone. Come on." Robin extended her hand in front of Lon'qu. "Chop-chop. Don't have all day."

"It's still really early in the morning in Chon'sin. I don't think she's up yet," replied Lon'qu.

"Oh, right. Time difference." Robin nodded, acknowledging the point he made. "Well, I guess we could wing it."

* * *

"What about this?" Robin held up pink bowtie hair clip spotted with polka dots.

"Robin, for the hundredth time, I have no idea what kind of hair thingies she's into," said Lon'qu irritably.

Robin had asked that question every time she picked up an accessory or a makeup product. He learned today that apparently there is a difference between lip balm, lip tint, lip gloss, and lipstick. He had several bags in both hands, and on top of that, it was crowded in The Village. He had no idea how he was going to fit any of the gifts Robin bought for his little sister into the two suitcases he was restricted to. And from the looks of it, she didn't look like she was anywhere near being done.

Robin giggled. "Then help me out. It'll go much faster."

"Yeah, that looks great. Let's go with that," he said indifferently.

"You're just saying that so I'll stop asking you," said Robin with a pout. "That was your answer to everything."

"Robin, you've bought enough," said Lon'qu, lifting up both hands to show her all the shopping bags. He felt like a human shopping cart.

"What about this one?" Robin picked up another bowtie hair clip, but this time it was silver with gold trimming.

Melancholy glazed over his eyes. It was too familiar of _that time_.

"No? Don't think she'll like it?" she asked. "I think it's cute!"

"Sure, that's nice too. This is the last thing you're buying for Ke'ri. We're going home." Lon'qu put down his foot.

"Already?" asked Robin with a hint of disappointment.

"You've been at this for five hours now, Robin," said Lon'qu. "You even bought me seven ties, even though I specifically told you not to."

"Hey, be glad that I didn't also get those cuff links. And all your ties are boring." Robin pretended to glare at Lon'qu. Before Lon'qu could scold her again, Robin spoke. "Okay! Okay! I'm going to the cashier, _right now_. See? Walking over there."

He saw her grab a couple more things before actually heading to the cash register. "Robin!" he snapped.

She flinched. "Okay! Okay! I promise not to grab more stuff. I can't help it that I like shopping for other people more than myself."

* * *

Lon'qu wore a scowl as he drove them home. He kept grumbling to himself under his breath, while Robin hummed happily and texted on her phone in the passenger seat. He had no idea how he was going to pack all of extra stuff.

 _How was shopping with your housemate?_

 _It was nice to get out and get some air,_ she texted.

"Was this necessary, Robin?" he asked.

"Of course, it was!" she exclaimed, tearing her eyes away from her phone screen. "There's nothing more heartbreaking than a little girl in a hospital. And it's not just _anyone_. It's your sister."

"It's not going to fit," he said flatly.

"Then we'll make it a carry-on." Robin shrugged, returning to her phone. Robin's phone went off again.

 _I was trying to text with my pinkies. My thumbs still hurt._

"Oh, Phila's alive! Oh, hah! She was trying to text with her pinkies. That makes sense…her last text was absolute gibberish."

 _OMG, YES. WE CAN FINALLY GO ON DOUBLE-DATES WHEN RAIMI GETS BACK._ _YOU SPILL EVERYTHING ON MONDAY LUNCH BREAK, GOT IT?_

Robin blushed at Phila's new text. It wasn't like Chrom and her were official. They were just testing the waters out. That was all. Why was Phila getting ahead of herself?

"Robin," he said.

"Don't use that tone with me. I'll pay for extra baggage if it doesn't fit as a carry-on. My parting gift," said Robin.

Lon'qu sighed, giving into her.

"Hey, wanna make a bet?" Robin asked, putting her phone away.

"No," he said.

"Oh, come on!" Robin said.

"No," he said again.

"You haven't even heard the bet!" said Robin.

"I'm not making any bets with you," he said with finality in his tone.

"Humour me one last time before you go," asked Robin. "Please?"

He didn't respond to her right away, but Lon'qu gave into her a second time. "Fine, what's the bet?"

"How much you wanna bet on Priam fucking a flight attendant on the way here?" asked Robin.

He blushed with a serious look of regret. Why did he agree to this?

"Robin, I don't think he's going to f—." Lon'qu paused and corrected himself. "Sleep with any of the flight attendants. That's crude even for Priam."

Robin scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to bet you a hundred G that he fucks one or more flight attendants, but not all. It's only a three hour flight, I don't think he _can_ get them all in first-class. There's always one who is repulsed by him," said Robin.

"Why are we betting on this?" asked Lon'qu.

"Mmm…because I suppose it's fun?" Robin thought out loud. "You agreed to the bet. No backing out."

"What if he manages to get every single flight attendant in first-class?" asked Lon'qu.

"Wait, are you betting that he'll get every single one?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "You just said that it was 'crude' even for Priam to fuck all the flight attendants."

"It _is_ Priam," said Lon'qu. He didn't want to admit it, but Priam had questionable…hobbies. Morally questionable hobbies to be specific.

"So, you're going to bet, he's going to sleep with all the flight attendants in first-class," said Robin.

Heck, what did he have to lose? Except a hundred G. This could be interesting. "Yeah," said Lon'qu.

"Okay, well, have that hundred G prepared." Robin smirked. "He doesn't have _that_ much game."

* * *

Monday afternoon finally rolled around, to Robin's utter dismay, but she came to airport with Lon'qu. There were crowds surrounding the gate exits, waiting for friends, family, and loved ones. In Robin's case, she came to greet a social menace. Robin kept muttering and grumbling under her breath as she reluctantly followed Lon'qu. She didn't even get to gossip with Phila, or let alone see her, because Lon'qu dragged her out of the hospital before the lunch break. Phila was going to flip at her later for that.

"I can't believe I had to leave work early for this," said Robin.

Lon'qu stared at the arrival board. "His flight arrived ten minutes ago. He should be coming out of exit B."

"Let's go to Exit B then," said Robin, dragging her feet.

The two headed to Exit B and watched the automatic doors slide open and shut, spitting out new arrivals, but no Priam. An hour went by and Robin was fairly certain that everyone on Priam's flight from Plegia had exited the airport. But still no Priam.

"Maybe the plane crashed and he died," said Robin hopefully. Beside her, a mother waiting for her son to arrive gave her a dirty look.

"The plane didn't crash. Usually first-class passengers come out first," said Lon'qu.

"Who knows, maybe they threw him off board during the way here," said Robin. "What's taking him so long?"

"I don't think they would do that to a passenger," said Lon'qu. "Oh, there he is."

Robin glowered in the direction of Exit B. "Son of a—"

There was a group of pretty flight attendants dressed in Plegian Air uniforms giggling around a tall man with indigo hair pushing a cart. Their heels clicked against the floor as they escorted the man out of the exit. He wore a pair of dark sunglasses with a charming smile that sparkled. The sleeves of his patterned button-down shirt were neatly folded, revealing his muscular forearms. Some of stewardesses were fighting over who would be his arm accessory. One was playing with his tie.

He laughed. "Ladies, ladies. There's enough of me to go around."

One of the flight attendants gasped and pointed at Robin. "Oh, is that the little cousin you were talking about? She does look miserable." All of her fellow colleagues turned their attention to Robin. They all gave her a look of pity. "Why is she dressed in those blue pyjamas? Did she escape the psychiatric ward?"

Priam lowered his sunglasses for a moment and squinted. "Yup, that's her."

"Girls, do you see that handsome man beside her? Oh, Priam, you have to introduce us to him," said another flight attendant.

"Sorry, no can do. My little cousin will probably slit my throat with a scalpel if I introduce you to her…friend," Priam chuckled.

Robin shifted uncomfortably on the spot, averting her eyes. Were they staring at her because she was still in her scrubs? Lon'qu didn't give her a chance to change into normal clothes.

"What the hell did he tell them this time?" she hissed under her breath.

"I don't know," said Lon'qu, starting to grow impatient with the man and Robin's endless bickering.

"Yeah, poor thing just had a miscarriage. She how tired she looks? She's very distraught and heartbroken over it. Then her husband left her, blaming her for losing the baby. It was the damned dastard's fault for beating her all the time when he was drunk." Priam sniffled. "I was so excited to be an uncle. I just love babies."

His groupies cooed at Priam, petting his back. "Wow, you have such a great paternal instinct. I can't believe you left your job as a lawyer in Plegia to come take care of her. That's so sweet," said one of the flight attendants.

"I mean, what can I do? She's family. I love her like a little sister." Priam sighed dramatically. "Anyway, I'll catch you ladies later. I have to take care of my baby cousin." They all waved good-bye as Priam pushed his cart, which had several suitcases precariously stack upon another, towards the pair.

"Welcome to Ylisse." Lon'qu greeted Priam with a firm handshake.

"Still as uptight as ever." Priam gave him a cheeky smile. Priam turned to look at Robin who was giving him a look of utter disgust. "Hello to you too, little Grima," said Priam with a pleasant smile and messed her hair up, knowing it would get under Robin's skin.

"Stop that." She swatted away his hands. "What did you just tell them? Why are they looking at me like that?" demanded Robin.

"Oh, I just told them that you just had a miscarriage and you're mentally unstable. Since, you know, you have the greatest maternity instinct in the world and your dream is to become the perfect housewife." Priam snickered. "Why are you dressed like a homeless person?"

"There are called 'scrubs'. It's what medical professionals wear," she said in a low voice. "Unlike you, I don't spend my entire day _lying_."

"I bend the truth, little Grima. Not lie for a living," Priam chuckled.

"Same thing," said Robin.

"And if you really wanna compare professions, I can pull out all the malpractice cases in Plegia and Ylisse. Do you think you'll be proud to wear daytime pyjamas then?" smirked Priam.

"Go home, Priam. No one wants you here," said Robin.

"Still as bratty as ever," said Priam. "Here." Priam picked up a weird looking carry-on bag and offered it to Robin.

"What is it?" Robin frowned at him.

"Just look," said Priam with a mischievous smile.

Robin grabbed the bag and looked through the mesh. Her face darkened. "No. You've got to be kidding me."

Priam chuckled. "I thought it would help your 'mental instability'."

"You're the one who needs help, you sex addict!" she shouted, earning the three some judgmental stares.

"Well, whatever. Gold Digger is staying put with me or you can leave," said Priam with a shrug.

Lon'qu sighed at the two. Nothing had changed. Robin who was usually composed and reserved, transformed into an irritable, angry person around Priam. Priam who was usually cold and calculating around his peers and subordinates, became a troll around Robin. It was rather embarrassing to be around the two, especially since they fought like children, despite being adults. They were like oil and water.

He would be babysitting for the next little while. Maybe he should've booked his flight the day after Priam's arrival. But then Robin would've been even more upset.

"Your stupid dog isn't staying." Robin scowled. "What kind of dog is this? Why would you name a dog 'Gold Digger'? What's wrong with its face?"

"What's wrong with _your_ face?" Priam rebutted, scandalized by the question. "And Gold Digger is a perfect name."

"Ha ha. Real mature," said Robin sarcastically.

"It's a pug. And he's adorable," said Priam, snatching the dog carrier away from Robin.

"You hate animals. You hate everything," said Robin. "Except smoking, booze, and sex."

Priam grinned. "You know me too well. And get it right, brat. I hate everything except smoking, booze, money, and sex, and now, Gold Digger." Priam fingered off the list on his hand. "Oh, and I don't mind annoying the shit out of you. It's a pretty amusing pastime, but of course, at your expense." He leaned in close and whispered, "That's the best part."

"I hope your bones rot from syphilis," said Robin.

"You're still as charming as ever. Go get a fuck buddy or something. You can bring home whoever is willing to put up with you. I know Lon'qu is all weird about people having sex around him, but little Grima, I don't care. Go be free! Liberate yourself," said Priam. "Maybe if you got laid you wouldn't be so sexually frustrated and vent your anger at me all the time." Priam gestured to Robin while looking at Lon'qu. "How do you put up with her crappy personality?"

"She's doesn't have a crappy personality," said Lon'qu.

"Slut," she said.

"You're just jealous I broke my record in three hours," said Priam with a proud grin.

"Oh Gods," said Robin, burying her face into her hands. "I think I just lost a hundred G. Why couldn't you just keep your dick in your pants? Just this once?"

"Did you two bet on me?" asked Priam curiously. "What'd you two bet on?"

"That you'd give most of flight attendant in first-class herpes." Robin spat as she pulled out her wallet from her bag and counted out five twenty G bills. She handed them over to Lon'qu.

"Well, if that's how you wanna put it. I gave them _all_ herpes then," said Priam. "Lon'qu, good man. See men think alike. He knew I'd break my record. It's an alpha male thing."

"Shut up, Priam. No one cares," said Robin. She offered the money to Lon'qu with both hands.

"Thank you." Lon'qu grabbed the bills and pulled it towards him, but Robin still had a firm grip on the money. He tugged again. Robin's lips were pulled into a tight line as she still held on.

"Robin, keep your word," said Priam, enjoying this a little too much.

Lon'qu pulled one more time and Robin finally let go of the hundred G.

"How'd you know he'd do that?" Robin asked.

"There's usually two or three flight attendants in first-class for Plegian Air," said Lon'qu. "We didn't bet that he'd sleep with _all_ the flight attendants. I thought it was plausible."

Robin sighed. "It appears I have misjudged you. I'm seeing you in a new light, Lon'qu."

"Anyway, Gold Digger and I need rest," Priam announced. "Let's go home! And stop glaring at me, brat. Lon'qu, you'll get over disappointing the brat." He patted Lon'qu roughly on the back after watching the man's calm facade crumble and reveal a flabbergasted face.

* * *

Lon'qu finished putting in the last suitcase into the trunk of the car. Packing Priam's numerous suitcases into the trunk was the equivalent to playing Tetris. Beside him, Priam sucked on a cigarette. The grey wisps of smoke licked at Lon'qu's face. He grimaced and tried to avoid the unpleasant smoke.

"Want one?" Priam offered the cigarette pack to Lon'qu.

"I don't smoke," said Lon'qu. "Try not to smoke inside the house. Robin hates the smell."

"Since when were you so whipped?" Priam asked. He blew smoke out of his nostrils this time. "Gods, I thought I was dying not being able to smoke on the plane."

"You should consider quitting. It's not good for you," said Lon'qu, walking over to the driver's seat. The secondhand smoke was going to drive him crazy for the next couple days.

"From what I remember, I'm your superior," said Priam, flicking the cigarette onto the ground and extinguishing it with the ball of his foot.

"My apologies. Just don't smoke in the house," said Lon'qu.

"I call shot-gun!" Robin ran towards the two.

"What'd you do? Take the world's biggest shit?" Priam asked.

"There was a huge line-up," said Robin with a flushed frown.

"Sure, whatever you say. And you don't get shot-gun. Sit in the back," said Priam. "I'm sitting shot-gun. My long legs get cramped in the back. I can't do that to myself. Why do you think I always ride first-class?"

"No, I'm sitting in the front." Robin walked past Priam and reached for the door, but Priam held out his arm and stopped her. Her fingers brushed against the side of the car. He pulled her back away from the door of the front passenger seat, causing her to stumble back step a couple times.

Lon'qu waited for the two stop their bickering once more.

"What is your problem? It's _my_ seat," she said.

"Nope. Not anymore. Sit in the back. You shouldn't be sitting in the front. _Kids_ sit in the back," said Priam.

Robin argued back. "I'm an _adult_. Lon'qu lets me sit in the front all the time."

"I don't care what Lon'qu lets you do. I'm here now," said Priam. "Lon'qu, stop spoiling her. She thinks she's a _person_."

"Fuck you," Robin shoved his arm aside.

"What wonderful language from a doctor. Do you talk to your patients with that kind of language?" asked Priam.

"Nope, I reserve it just for you," she said.

"Sit in the back with Gold Digger," Priam ordered. He offered the dog carrier to Robin. She heard his little paws patter about inside.

"It's not going in the car," she said, crossing her arms, refusing the dog. "Put it in the trunk. Lon'qu, open the trunk."

"Stop acting like a child and get in the car, Robin. And you can't put Gold Digger in the trunk," said Priam with warning tone. He opened the back door for her. "Hurry up. Get in."

She glared at him and grabbed the dog from him and sat in the back seat.

"Thank you, princess," Priam said exasperatedly and slammed the door shut.

The next couple days were going to be a headache with Priam and Robin. "Was that necessary?" asked Lon'qu.

"Oi, you. There's a reason why the windows are tinted and bullet-proof. If you have half a brain, you will see that the front window is _see-through_. What if someone who recognizes her sees her? Do you know how difficult it was to keep her out of the public's eye all these years? And even then, some people still know her face. I don't care what happens to you. You're easily replaceable. But I do care if something happens to the brat. And if you're the one responsible, I'll make you pay," said Priam in a low voice, stabbing the roof of the car with a finger.

Lon'qu schooled a neutral façade, despite the anger simmering underneath. Instead of defending himself, he bowed his head and said, "My apologies. I'll be more careful next time."

"Did you add me to the security clearance list at the new place?" asked Priam. His previous malice no longer present.

"I got everything ready before your arrival," said Lon'qu.

Priam heard knocking on his side of the car. "Have some patience, brat," he yelled at the window. "Okay, let's go before she has a wyvern."

Once Lon'qu and Priam finally got into the car, Priam glanced back. Gold Digger's carrier was carefully placed in the middle, tucked beside her side. She had a protective arm over the arch of the carrier as she texted on her phone.

"I thought you hated Gold Digger," said Priam with a smirk.

"I don't hate the dog. I hate him because he's _your_ dog," she said indifferently as she texted.

"Who ya texting?" asked Priam.

Lon'qu started the car and began to back out of the parking spot.

"None of your business," she said.

"Wait, you have _friends_?" he asked incredulously.

"Eugh, just stop talking, Priam. Lon'qu make him stop talking." Robin looked to Lon'qu who was still backing out.

"Priam, please stop irritating her," Lon'qu told Priam.

Robin ignored him and went back to her phone. She texted, ' _It's here.'_

Her phone ringed a couple notes when a response came back. _I'm sure he won't be that bad. How long is he staying for?_

 _Six months_.

 _You're going to miss Lonk aren't you? I have no idea how to spell his name lol_

Robin giggled at the misspelled name.

 _Lon'qu** Yeah, I'm going to miss him a lot._

"Who ya texting?" asked Priam again. Robin didn't respond. She simply smiled at the phone. Priam reached over and snatched the phone from her.

"Give it back!" Robin's temper flared. She hated how Priam treated her like a child.

Priam scrolled through her phone. "Who's this?"

"Give it, Priam! Stop looking through my phone!" Robin tried to reach over, accidentally slapping Lon'qu in the face, causing him to swerve on the road. The car behind them gave them a roaring honk. Gold Digger barked in his carrier. Meanwhile, Robin's fingers managed to find Priam's tie. She yanked.

"Fuck!" he choked. "Let go, you crazy little shit!"

"Give me my phone back!" yelled Robin, pulling harder. She gave another violent tug. Priam gagged. "That's for teaching me dance moves that humiliated me! You lying fucking fraud!"

Priam held out her phone a little further away from her. His face became brighter and brighter shades of red as the time passed. With his free hand, he grabbed one of Robin's wrist and began to pull her forward, making it even more difficult for Lon'qu drive.

She felt the seatbelt digging into her stomach. "Stop that! You're hurting me!" Robin hissed.

"Do something!" they both yelled at Lon'qu who was starting to get a headache only a mother with two bickering children understood.

"Robin, sit down and let go of Priam's tie," Lon'qu snapped. With great reluctance, Robin released Priam from her death grip. Priam let go of her wrist. "Give me that." He snatched the phone from Priam and handed it back to Robin.

"Thank you," said Robin, shoving her phone back into her bag. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you in the face," she murmured.

"Must be a boyfriend." Priam concluded while rubbing his throat.

"Priam, I'm begging you. Shut up and go down in a hole," said Robin.

"I never realized how dangerous ties could be until you, crazy brat. I hope you're happy. You made a very sexy accessory fucking scarring. Only you could manage that," said Priam, quickly loosening his tie.

"You're welcome," said Robin shot him a sarcastic smile.

Lon'qu glowered. Enough. He turned on his turning signal and parked the car on the side of the road. He turned his head back to look at Robin. She saw the anger in his eyes. She bit her lip and shoved her phone into her bag. Then Lon'qu glared at Priam.

"This wouldn't have happened if she just told me who it was," said Priam, holding his hands up.

"Stop behaving like children, you two. You two are fucking _adults_. You're a doctor, Robin. Act like it. And you, Priam, you're a Gods damned lawyer and you're supposed to look after Robin while I'm gone. Is this how you two behave in your respective work fields?" Lon'qu demanded.

"No," murmured Robin. "Sorry."

"I'll sit in the back in case she makes an attempt at my life," said Priam, getting out and walking over to Robin's door. He opened it. "Move over, Fatty."

"Fuck you, Priam! You're the one who's fat," she swore at him, but unclipped her seat belt and moved over nevertheless.

Priam slid into the back seat. He asked Lon'qu, "Is she seeing someone?"

"I'm not seeing anyone," said Robin, rolling her eyes. She held onto Gold Digger's carrier. "Why do you always assume I'm seeing someone?"

"Because I had to scare off a lot of suitors when I had to babysit your annoying ass," chuckled Priam with a hint of pride. "But I think you did a really good job of that on your own, Robin. Especially with the dance moves I taught you."

Robin gave an exasperated cry. Several memories of Priam always popping up at untimely intimate moments with the opposite sex flashed in her head.

"I don't know. From reading one of the text conversations, it was like watching socially challenged people flirt." Priam snorted.

"Robin, please tell me that it's not who I think it is," asked Lon'qu, rubbing his temples. They were still parked on the side of the road.

Robin remained silent in the back, staring out the window, hoping that everyone would just drop the whole topic.

"Robin." Lon'qu called her again.

"Huh," said Priam with a look of great interest. "It's not a 'no one'. Why ask her when we can hack her phone later?"

"That's an invasion of privacy." Robin punched Priam in the arm.

"Not when your safety is involved, it isn't." Priam grinned.

"It's nothing," said Robin, playing with the zipper on Gold Digger's carrier.

"I never thought the day would come when you took an interest in the opposite sex again. Little Grima is all grown up," said Priam, pretending to wipe a tear.

Robin scowled at Priam. What in Naga's name was he talking about? No wonder Lon'qu was misunderstanding everything.

"I was texting Phila, okay? I don't want Priam prying his way into my life and ruining all the connections I've made. He has a habit of doing that." Robin bickered. Then, she looked at her phone. 'Police Stalker' was obviously written on the top of the conversation. Her eyes widened and she immediately turned to Priam.

He responded with a nonchalant smile and a shrug. "Okay, whatever you say," Priam agreed. "Hey, Gold Digger. Hope you're doing okay, buddy. We're almost at your new home." The pug barked in response. "You're such a good boy."

Robin swallowed. There was no way Priam could've read her texts with Chrom in that short amount of time. She swore it was Phila's conversation that was open when he stole her phone. It was probably just by chance...Priam wasn't that smart. She just needed to brush it off like nothing happened and act natural.

"Why'd you get a pug of all dogs?" asked Robin.

"The dastard who gave him to me said he was a bulldog," said Priam.

"You can't tell the difference between a pug and a bulldog? Moron," said Robin.

"Whatever, smartass," said Priam.

Robin made a sound of disgust. "Why the hell did you name it 'Gold Digger' anyway?"

"Because he's the best," scoffed Priam like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And I'm his sugar daddy."

"It's a _male_." Robin pointed out. "I would've expected you to name your dog 'Playa' or something stupid along those lines."

"Males can be gold-diggers too," said Priam.

"You seriously need help," said Robin. "Phila's actually a psychiatrist. Wanna go see her?"

"It was the only name he would respond to," said Priam with a scowl. "I originally wanted to name him 'Giant'."

Robin burst out laughing. Her shoulders shook violently as she gasped for air. In the driver's seat, Lon'qu also tried to hide a smile.

She said in between her gasps for her, "That's…what you get…for being…a manslut."

"Shut up, brat," Priam said with hostility. Robin ignored him and continued to laugh at him. Priam ignored her and said, "Hope you two are ready for 'Veritas'."

Robin immediately stopped laughing and her face fell. "I hate 'Veritas'."

Priam smirked at the uncomfortable silence from the other two people in the car. "I'm both your senior, so you can't say refuse."

"I don't think it's be a good idea," said Lon'qu.

"I have work tomorrow," said Robin.

"Don't care," said Priam. "Let's go, Lon'qu. We're wasting time. Time is money."

Robin bit her lip. Priam had pulled rank on them. Even she couldn't back out of this.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

I really wanted to include Chrom in this chapter, but couldn't find room. D: So I promise I'll write him next chapter.

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT. AFTER TWELVE CHAPTERS, PRIAM! I have no idea if I met anyone's expectations of him. But this is merely the beginning of Priam.

As always, reviews are much appreciated and if you're too shy, PM me! :) I love hearing from the readers. It's really encouraging.


	14. Veritas

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much for your patience.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Veritas**

The three Exalt siblings had gathered to help Lissa prepare alphabet cookies for her class of grade threes. It was a treat she had promised them on a class-wide improvement in spelling. The kitchen in her house was too small, so she asked Emmeryn if they could all gather at the main house—the house they all grew up in. Emmeryn had decided to remain in the house after their parents passed away, while Chrom and Lissa lived closer to their work in downtown.

"Hey, Emm, why does it he keep smiling like that?" Lissa leaned over to Emmeryn and whispered. They watched their brother sit on the stool and tapped a light rhythm with his hands against the kitchen counter.

"Well, he is on his vacation," Emmeryn answered.

"It's not even nice out." Lissa gestured out the kitchen window.

The two Exalt sisters took a peek outside the window. The sky was a dreary, grey backdrop with curdled clouds dragging their miserable bodies across the sky. The budding trees bent and yielded to the commanding strong wind. Occasionally, a tree branch would claw at the window. And the usually luscious backyard lawn was dabbled by brown, muddy patches, framed with an empty garden.

"Isn't it a great day?" Chrom asked his two sisters cheerfully.

Emmeryn offered him a sympathetic smile. Perhaps being away from work has made his head go a little fuzzy. "Is everything alright?"

He grinned. "Everything is dapper."

"Emm, he just used the word 'dapper', something's wrong with him. Who uses 'dapper'?" Lissa asked in a hushed voice.

The older Exalt rationalized that perhaps his behaviour wasn't the result of something negative. "Did something good happen?" asked Emmeryn.

"I have a date with Robin this upcoming Friday," Chrom announced excitedly.

"Wait, so 'Chrobin' is a thing?" Lissa gasped. "I did it, Emm! I'm the ultimate matchmaker!" She giggled while bouncing on her feet.

"I'm happy to hear that, Chrom." Emmeryn gave him a kind smile.

"I can't wait to meet her," Lissa exclaimed.

"Give them a bit of space and time, Lissa." Emmeryn patted Lissa on the hand.

"Oh, you're right. First, he needs to make her fall madly in love with him to overlook that he's actually a dork who can't dress himself. You're lucky that police officers have to wear uniforms." Lissa grinned, resting her hands on her hips. "Oh, wait...you can't go on dates in a police uniform. We have a problem here."

"I'm really excited." Chrom gave his two sisters the widest smile, oblivious to Lissa's remarks. "Do you guys need any help with that?" He pointed to the floury mess his sisters had their hands being sucked into.

"We're good," said Lissa. "It may not look like I know what I'm doing. But I know what I'm doing." Lissa scurried about in the kitchen and pulled out a couple baking sheets.

"Did you buy cookie cutters?" asked Emmeryn, pulling out a rolling pin from a drawer.

"Yup, just for Chrom, since his artistic ability border artistic disability," said Lissa. "Can't have him ruining my cookies for my little grade threes!"

"Hey!" protested Chrom. "Stop sassing your older brother. And I'm not that bad."

Emmeryn laughed lightly at the two. She began to roll out the dough as the two continued to banter.

"Remember that drawing of a chicken you made when you were helping me out on a project in elementary school?" asked Lissa. She placed the box of alphabet cookie cutters onto the counter.

"No?" said Chrom, frowning at her.

"Well, I do. Everyone laughed. How in Naga's name does a chicken have four legs?" she asked.

"Oh, that," said Chrom, vaguely remembering little Lissa returning from school with her school project with quite the angry scrunched up face at the verge of tears. "It had two legs, and two of the other things were its _wings_."

Lissa burst out laughing and Emmeryn giggled beside her. The memory of Chrom's terrible drawing was too vivid. "It looked like a donkey!"

"Fine, Lissa. I suck at art. And I suck at music," said Chrom. "But I _try_."

"That's all that matters," said Emmeryn. She had stamped her way through most of the dough while Lissa teased Chrom.

Chrom got up from the stool and went around to help his sisters finish the cutting the cookies out. He grabbed a small 'C' stencil and pressed it into the soft dough, making a clean imprint.

"When you bring Robin home, I'm going to have so much fun showing her all your awkward baby photos." Lissa giggled.

"You _wouldn't_ ," said Chrom. There were too many awkward baby photos. Too many.

"Oh, I would," said Lissa. "They're too adorable to _not_ share with her."

Before Chrom could think of a comeback, his attention was brought to the vibrating phone in his pants. He washed his hands in the sink and dried his hands on his shirt. He pulled out the phone and a smile spread on his face when he looked at the screen. He texted something back on the phone while slowly making his way back to the stool he was sitting on.

"Chrom?" Emmeryn called out to him. "Chrom?"

"Yeah?" he responded, but he wasn't paying attention to them anymore.

"And we lost him," said Lissa. She turned to Emmeryn. "So how are you and Frederick?" She elbowed her sister in the side.

The eldest Exalt blushed. "Lissa…"

Lissa would pull pranks on them when she was younger, but now that she grew up a bit, she usually resorted to getting her fun from teasing them.

No one was safe from Lissa endless teasing. No one.

* * *

"Please, can we do this another night? It's Monday," protested Robin in the elevator. She was pressed up against the mirrored wall because Priam had brought so much with him from Plegia.

"Nope. I call the shots, little Grima." He was really pulling the superiority card today. "Clear your schedule. Both of you. Because you might not be able to stand up tomorrow."

Lon'qu shifted uncomfortably against his side of the elevator, trying to alleviate the pressure of one of Priam's suitcases starting to dig into his thigh.

"You stupid sex addict, why'd you bring so much crap with you? You're worse than Avie!" Robin began to take out her frustration on Priam.

Priam smirked. "Well, if you _really_ want to know, little Grima. One suitcase is condoms. For you know." Priam winked and made a ring with his thumb and index finger with one hand and then inserted his other index finger in and out. Robin rolled her eyes at him. Lon'qu decided to examine the fascinating pattern of Gold Digger's carrier bag. Priam continued. "The large one right beside you. That one is full of sex toys. Oh, and that one is just booze."

"You're all the seven sins rolled up into one person, you know that?" snapped Robin. "Didn't you bring any clothes, you idiot."

Lon'qu found it difficult to believe half of what Priam said. He knew Priam was a lot more practical and logical than he let on. However, Lon'qu chose to remain quiet around Priam most of the time. A part of him was nervous that if he got sucked into Priam's endless trolling, he'd end up in a similar situation to Robin.

When the elevator finally opened on their floor, Robin let out a sigh of relief. "Hurry up. I can't handle this any longer."

"That's what she said." Priam teased with that awful smirk of his. He watched Robin blush and then curse at him. Priam pointed his thumb at Robin and shook his head at Lon'qu. "Seriously, Lon'qu, how do you deal with her? She doesn't have a sense of humour."

Lon'qu was stretched out with his finger pressing the 'open door' button while wearing a terribly unamused face. "Priam, you're at the front of the elevator, can you start moving your stuff out?" asked Lon'qu gruffly.

"Fine, fine." Priam stepped out and pulled out one suitcase at a time, eventually freeing Lon'qu and Robin from his trap. Robin helped Lon'qu drag some of the suitcases closer to the door.

Lon'qu stood in front of the door and slid the key pad open. Priam tilted his head a bit to figure out the password as Lon'qu pressed it in. The gears turned and it sang a little happy tune. Lon'qu opened the door and propped it open with the attached door stop.

"Really, Robin? Zero, three, two, three?" scoffed Priam. "You depressing brat."

Robin didn't volley back a sassy remark. Quietly, she stepped in and slipped off her shoes, leaving the work to Priam and Lon'qu.

"Hey, come grab Gold Digger," Priam yelled into the house. To his surprise, Robin came back and took the dog carrier from him. As Lon'qu and Priam brought in each suitcase, from the corner of his eye, Priam saw Robin unzip the carrier and let Gold Digger out.

"I'm sorry you have such an awful owner." Robin cooed at the awkward pug who wagged its tail happily at her. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." She held out a cautious hand to pet the dog. Once she realized that Gold Digger was a very amicable dog, she scratched his ear.

Priam snorted out of ear-shot. "Tch, and she said she hated him."

"I think that's the last of them," said Lon'qu, closing the door behind him.

Priam let out a whistle once he got a good look around the condominium. "This is one hell of a place. That's a nice view." He walked over to the large windows that composed one side of the entire condominium.

"Don't make a mess." Robin warned.

"Why would I do such a thing?" Priam feigned being offended.

"Is Gold Digger toilet-trained?" Robin asked while giving the dog a belly rub with her foot.

"I think so," said Priam.

"What do you mean, 'I think so'?" demanded Robin.

"I'm not the one who usually takes care of him. The men take turns, since I have more important things to do," said Priam. He rolled two of the suitcases to the side of the couches.

"I guess I'm not the only one you neglect, huh? Poor dog," said Robin. She gave him a judgmental stare as she watched him drag two more suitcases over to the couches.

"He gets fed and loved," said Priam. "You're really not going to help are you?"

"Hmm, let me remember…oh, right. You didn't help me at all when I was moving my stuff to Ylisse from Plegia for med school, did you now? Oh, right. You were _flirting_ with anything that had boobs and legs," Robin retorted. "Including some of the mothers."

"No one likes grudge-y bitches," said Priam. "Past is the past. Get over it."

Robin rolled her eyes. "Hurry up. You're so slow," said Robin. She watched Gold Digger who was barking excitedly as he ran around his new home. "I want to get Veritas over with. Lon'qu, do you think we should order out?"

"What were you thinking?" Lon'qu asked, sitting down on his couch.

"Ribs!" shouted Priam.

"Ignore him," said Robin, waving her hand at Priam. "I don't think I want to eat pizza…are you craving anything?"

"Ribs!" Priam shouted again.

"I'm not really hungry right now." Lon'qu admitted to Robin.

Robin's stomach growled, a reminder that she missed lunch because they were picking up Priam and now it was almost dinner time.

"Chicken wings and ribs!" Priam continued to be an irritating fly to Robin. In his corner, he began to unpack one of his suitcase.

Robin heard clinking sounds, so she decided to look over to see what Priam was doing now. Around him were glass bottles of alcohol. The bottles all differed in shape and size. The contents inside the bottles were varying colours as well. But Robin knew that they all had one thing in common: a high alcohol content. And she also knew another fact all too well—they were going to have to finish all of it tonight.

Robin sighed. "I'm going to throw up tonight."

Lon'qu grimaced at the collection of booze that Priam had brought over. He wasn't lying about one of the suitcases being full of alcohol. It had been a while since he had drunk copious amounts of alcohol. It worried him a little that he might not last. He hoped deep inside that all that training and trying to keep up with the both Director Khans in Regna Ferox will steel his will to get through Veritas.

"We're going to have so much fun tonight," Priam roared. "Did you order the ribs and chicken wings yet?"

"How are you still alive when you do that to your body?" asked Robin.

* * *

Lon'qu set down the shot glasses on the coffee table. Beside him, Robin grumbled miserably under her breath as she unwrapped the delivered food. She gave Priam a dirty look, for he was lounging on the couch, watching the two do all the work.

"Would it kill you to help?" demanded Robin.

"Probably," said Priam, reaching over for a chicken wing while lying on the couch. Gold Digger wagged his tails expectantly at Priam as he bit into the meaty chunk.

"I don't get the point of this," said Robin, looking around at the food and bottles of alcohol they were expected to clear tonight.

"I didn't even bring that much. We can get through five bottles, easily," said Priam, waving a hand.

"Not when it's Feroxi vodka and Plegian tequila, we can't," snapped Robin, picking up a bottle and studying it luxurious brand label.

Priam shrugged and grabbed a rib this time. "Not my fault you're a lightweight. Too bad magic doesn't exist anymore. Did you know Veritas has been around for centuries, Lon'qu?"

"You've mentioned it," said Lon'qu.

"It was originally a truth-telling spell that would be cast amongst the royals or criminals. Hah! Sometimes the royals were criminals back then. The irony. Anyway, the point was to ensure that there were no secrets between the royal members to prevent the upheaval of the king within their inner circle. But there was a drawback, or so they say. Apparently, if you had a strong enough will power, you could withstand answering the questions truthfully," said Priam.

"And now it's just a stupid excuse to drink yourself to death," Robin grumbled.

"Nah, little Grima," said Priam as he tossed the clean rib bone to Gold Digger. Rib sauce splattered on the ground on its impact. Lon'qu and Robin both frowned at the location where the bone landed on the ground. "Gods, chill out, you two. Gold Digger's a food vacuum cleaner. He'll lick it clean."

"Aren't you _not_ supposed to feed dogs human food?" asked Robin.

Priam waved his hand. "Whatever. Gold Digger's like me, he's fine. Anyway, back to how we do Veritas in the modern day!"

"No one cares about your lecture." Robin rolled her eyes, leaving the two men behind.

"Brat. Anyway, finishing my story," said Priam, turning to the last victim.

"I don't understand how drinking to the point of alcohol poisoning is anything like the historical Veritas," said Lon'qu.

"That's where you're wrong!" Priam said excitedly, abruptly sitting up on the couch. Gold Digger jumped in surprise and barked with the same level of excitement as his owner. Priam pushed the pug aside with his foot. "Drunk people tend to tell the truth more. Usually. And whoever doesn't get smashed the most ends up taking all the secrets everyone else spills. Or whoever remembers the most."

"Priam, I don't see the point of getting Robin black-out drunk," said Lon'qu with a frown. He knew this wasn't going to go anywhere. Plegia was a country with a huge emphasis on social structure and hierarchy, particularly being respectful to your elders and superiors—as in, you do what they ask and want. It was considered very rude to deny a request or order from someone who was your superior.

However, the dynamic between the three was odd. Technically, Robin outranked them all, seeing how her father employed both Lon'qu and Priam. But by age, Robin was the youngest, then Lon'qu was next with a couple years on Robin, and Priam was quite older than both of them. The establishment of social order was especially peculiar because Robin had known Priam for years and he had essentially taken care of her as an older figure for most of their relationship. So in the end, he had more authority over Robin than she did over him because of the position her father put Priam in.

At the end of the day, Robin understood her home country's customs very well. Lon'qu also knew that even if it was something she disagreed with, Robin would still do what she was asked to do. It was the Plegian way—blood, loyalty, and respect.

Robin returned in a casual tank and shorts. "Let's get this over with."

"It's been a while since I've drunk." Priam rubbed his hands excitedly.

"Wow, what? Has it been five hours?" asked Robin sarcastically.

"I need to maintain this body _somehow_ ," said Priam. She didn't want to admit it, but Priam was built. She could almost see why some women were attracted to him. But definitely not his personality. "I'm not like you, fatty." Robin gave an exasperated sigh and sat on the floor. She organized the shot glasses. "Yup, that's a roll right there." Priam pointed at her.

Robin glared at him. " _You_ try pulling a graveyard shift and living off of the vending machine and shitty coffee."

"Lon'qu, you have to stop feeding her so much. I know you feel bad for her because she's small compared to us, but seriously, man, _look at her_. No one's going to want to marry her," said Priam. He began to snicker to himself as he watched Robin lose her composure bit by bit. "Are _you_ going to take responsibility for her if she's a spinster?"

Lon'qu sighed at the two. Priam enjoyed teasing Robin way too much. He thought that Priam would…grow out of it (despite being an adult), but he never did.

"I plan to be a spinster and die alone with my textbooks," said Robin. "I'm more worried about you. You're dick might fall off before you even get hitched." Robin tossed a shot glass over to Priam. He caught singlehandedly. "Actually, that might be a good thing for the world, so you don't pass on your corrupt, sinful genes."

Priam chuckled. "Your comebacks have gotten better."

"Your insults have just gotten _weak_." Robin smirked.

"We'll see who's smiling by the end of this," said Priam nonchalantly, putting his glass down. "Let's start with the Feroxi vodka, in Lon'qu's honour." The bottle lid made a cracking sound as Priam twisted it open.

Truthfully, Lon'qu wasn't sure how long he would last tonight. Priam was a monster when it came to alcohol tolerance. He made Basilio and Flavia look like lightweights. Lon'qu, himself, had a fairly high tolerance (thanks to the Khans), but he hadn't drank in a while.

"Why don't you sit on the couch?" asked Robin.

"I'm fine here," he answered.

"You might not want to sit there. Robin gets handsy when she's drunk. She might grab your junk and try to rip it off," said Priam. "She did that once. Remember that time you got drunk underaged?"

Robin's mouth dropped open. Her blush made a tomato look pale in comparison. Beside her, Lon'qu flushed and awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Lon'qu, I promise you I will not try to…grab you," said Robin diplomatically.

"I know," said Lon'qu quietly.

"Stop telling people lies, trash! I don't remember what happened, but I'm pretty sure you deserved it. And me getting drunk then wasn't my fault. You know that," hissed Robin.

Priam cackled. "I don't know, little Grima. Anyway, let's play Veritas."

* * *

"Throw it back," ordered Priam. He bit into another juicy rib.

"Go fuck yourself," swore Robin. She sipped her shot. Her cheeks were rosy from all the alcohol and she felt her heart pounding in her chest. It was only her fifth shot and they were pacing themselves, but she knew she was the one who was fucked tonight.

"Lon'qu's doing fine." Priam gestured to the Chon'sinese man. "What's wrong? Can't keep up?" Priam taunted Robin in a babying voice. Robin glared at him and then threw her head back with the shot. She made a strained face of absolute disgust and then put down her glass. Robin could feel that she was at her tipping point.

The alcohol hadn't quite hit him yet, but Lon'qu felt his sharp senses dull after the fifth shot. He was buzzed. Lon'qu looked at Priam who remained unfazed and composed.

Priam chuckled. "We still have a long night ahead of us, little ones. Oh, we're done this bottle. On to the tequila!"

"Eugh, not the tequila," Robin cried dramatically, crashing her head on top of the coffee table. Gingerly, she lifted her head and murmured, "Owie. That hurt. Lon'qu, the table hurt me." Lon'qu gave Robin a strained look. "Make it apologize."

Priam laughed at Robin and turned to Lon'qu. "You haven't said much. Are you already ready to pass out?"

"No," Lon'qu answered.

"Good. You're in for a treat. Robin's hilarious when she's smashed," said Priam. He poured the three more shots. "This is also how you get her to spill all her secrets. She sucks at Veritas."

"I'm still here, Penis," Robin spat.

"See?" said Priam, chuckling as he pushed the new glass towards her. "Absolutely adorably hilarious."

"I'm going to fight you the entire way, Penis," said Robin. Her words were starting to slur. "I can play Veritas too." Robin paused and stared at her shot of tequila. "Eugh, I hate this stuff. It's like black-out, truth serum."

"I know. Isn't it great?" Priam pushed Lon'qu his glass.

"I hate Veritas," muttered Robin. She stuck her finger into the shot glass of tequila. Priam had filled it to the rim and some of it overflowed and dribbled down the sides. Robin withdrew her fingers and sucked it. "Eugh."

"Hurry. We haven't even started the real fun yet." Priam drank his shot in one gulp.

Lon'qu followed Priam's example and grabbed his own glass and downed the shot. He felt really bad for Robin. He sensed that this was the shot to tip the scales.

"I'm not going to spill _anything_." Robin shook her head. "I'm just going to tell you _lies_." She grinned to herself. Then she glared at the shot and sighed. "Okay, I can do this." Robin drank her tequila in three painful gulps. "No more. Can't do anymore," she announced to everyone with her hands in the air. She gasped. "Gold Digger! C'mere boy! C'mere!" The pug panted and wagged its tail at Robin and padded over to her. She scooped Gold Digger up and snuggled him. The pug struggled a bit in her arms and then soon realized that he wasn't going to escape.

"Why don't we start?" asked Priam. "Robin, why don't you explain what happens now."

"We all know the rules," Robin slurred her words. "If you," Robin said while jabbing a finger at Priam, "ask us a question and think we're lying, we drink."

"Right you are, little Grima. Right you are." Priam pointed a finger at Robin and laughed.

"Hurry up. Ask away, asshole," she said. She was struggling to keep her vision straight.

"Robin, take it easy," said Lon'qu while catching Robin from falling down and pushing her back up.

"Fun thing with Robin, is that once she's hammered, she tells you just about everything." Priam crossed his arms and leaned into the back of the couch with a smirk.

"Fuck…you," said Robin.

"Have you slept with Lon'qu? You used to follow him around all the time," Priam asked nonchalantly.

Lon'qu shot a glare at Priam. "That's unprofessional." Priam ignored him and instead, focused on Robin.

Robin blushed, but then she snorted at his question. "Objection! This. This is a trick question!" Robin accused Priam with a finger. "Heh. I know all your tricks now." Gold Digger still struggled in one of Robin's arm. She held him tighter against her side.

Priam chuckled. "Yeah? How so?"

Robin explained her reasoning carefully. "If I say 'no', you'll say that I'm lying. If I say 'yes', you'll still say I'm lying and Lon'qu will get in shit for it. So in the end. I drink." Robin sloppily poured herself a shot. She slammed down the bottle of tequila and picked up the shot glass. She lifted it up and gestured to Priam. "Cheers." Before she could take her eighth shot, Lon'qu snatched it from her and drank it himself.

"That's enough, Priam," said Lon'qu.

"Priam, how are you not drunk?" Robin asked. "Eugh, head's spinning." Priam simply watched Robin with amusement. Robin rolled her head to Lon'qu. "You didn't have to do that."

"Robin, you've had enough," he said.

"Question." Robin snapped her head back at Priam.

"Shoot, brat," he said.

"Did you _actually_ sleep with them all?" she asked. "I mean, you kinda suck."

"Nope," he said.

"Huh?" demanded Robin. "You didn't?" In her brief moment of surprise, Gold Digger made his escape and scampered off.

"Nope." Priam gave her a rotten smile.

"Damn it. Don't believe you. You're lying! Drink!" Robin exclaimed, pointing a finger at him.

"Whatever you say, little Grima." He drank his poison. "But I told you."

"Wanna know a secret?" Robin giggled.

"I'm pretty sure I know most of your secrets," said Priam. "And none of them are good."

Robin pouted and shook her head. "You don't know that. Lon'qu doesn't know all my secrets."

"Brat, you sure you wanna tell Lon'qu all your secrets? You trust him?" Priam raised an eyebrow.

"I trust Lon'qu! Why wouldn't I?" Robin huffed. She slapped a hand on his thigh and rubbed it. Lon'qu froze. "I like Lon'qu. I like him a lot more than you."

"Whatever, little Grima," said Priam. "Watch out, Lon'qu. Next thing she'll go after your family jewels." Lon'qu brought up a hand to the lower half of his face.

"Shit, I forgot what I was going to say," said Robin. "Sorry, Lon'qu. No secrets today."

"Hey Robin, you seeing anyone?" asked Priam.

Robin angled her head so she could stare at Priam. Then she burst out into a fit of giggles and with a silly grin she said, "No?" It wasn't necessarily a lie. Chrom and her weren't even really seeing each other yet. They hadn't even been on their first date. She didn't constitute as 'seeing someone'.

Priam stared back at her with an indecipherable smile. Lon'qu's eyes darted back and forth between the two. Priam had a terrifying ability to pin point Robin's lies. He sank back into his seat. "Sure, little Grima. Sure. I'll take your word."

"Do you want me to…?" She brought up a hand and pretended up take a shot, while tipping her head back.

"Nah, you're pretty close to passing out," admitted Priam. "And if I wanted to know anything, I'd find out myself anyway."

"Whatever, brah," said Robin and then burst out into another uncontrollable giggling fit. Her head spun and her body urged her to lie down. "I'm going to lie down," she announced to everyone. Robin lowered herself down onto ground and rested her head on something. She couldn't tell what it was, but it was suitable to be a comfortable pillow. "Oh, I remember." Robin shifted to her back and stared up. Above her was Lon'qu's flustered face. "Oh. Hey there, Lon-Lon." She tapped him on the nose with a finger.

Lon'qu couldn't shove Robin off because she was too drunk to realize what she was doing. Instead, he turned his head away from Robin before she decided to pinch his cheeks next. Priam snickered at the two.

"I was held hostage once," she whispered to Lon'qu. Priam's laughter died down. Lon'qu frowned at Robin, who yawned, not realizing the mood shift. "That's why I was in the hospital."

"Robin, that's enough. Don't say anything you'll regret tomorrow morning," said Priam. "Do you have a question you wanna ask me?"

"Oh, I do!" Robin raised her hand up, accidentally smacking Lon'qu in the face for the second time that day. Lon'qu glowered at her, but Robin was too intoxicated to notice. "Why do you work for my father? You could've worked at any law firm. Hell, you could've opened your own law firm. I may hate you, but you're a damned good lawyer."

"Your mom," said Priam in a sassy tone.

"Priam. Your mom jokes don't count as answers. And that's disrespectful to my mother, who's dead," said Robin.

"Alright, I'll drink. Stop nagging," said Priam. "To March twenty-third, right?"

"Leave my mom out of this," said Robin, with her eyes closed. "What's the real reason?"

Priam shrugged. "It's more exciting and challenging. And there's the perk of trolling you."

"Lon-Lon," said Robin, turning her attention to him.

"Yes?" he stuttered. Robin was too close for comfort.

"Why do _you_ work for my father?" she asked. "Too bad I won't remember anything tomorrow…"

Priam appeared to be invested in the question as well, because he leaned in, waiting for Lon'qu's answer. Lon'qu blinked at Robin who watched him with her flushed face. Gold Digger decided to join the question period and settled down beside Robin. She reached down a hand scratched the pug's ear.

"The Chon'sin Triad murdered my parents," said Lon'qu.

"Oh," said Robin quietly. She averted her gaze guiltily. "I'm sorry I asked."

"And during that time, someone who worked in the Grima Syndicate took me in telling me I could get revenge," said Lon'qu. He poured himself a drink and drank it.

"Well, that was stupid," said Robin. "You picked the wrong side of the law."

"Oh, little Grima. The world isn't black and white. It's different shades of grey," said Priam with a heavy sigh. "Even in law, nothing's black and white. Perhaps some view the law itself as black and white, but it's a rather flawed institution for an ugly, chaotic world."

Robin yawned, scrunching up her face. "I think that's the most insightful thing you've ever said, Priam."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Who guessed that Veritas is essentially a drinking game? :P


	15. Stood Up

**Author's Notes:** Just a heads up. I am not a medical professional. So if one of the scenes seem medically inaccurate, forgive me. :P

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Stood Up**

The airport was quieter than Robin thought it would've been, or maybe it was the lack of conversation between the three. She couldn't tell. One fact remained the same either way: the dreaded Thursday had rolled around and Lon'qu was leaving. Robin had threatened both Priam and Lon'qu that she'd drug their food with laxatives if they didn't take her with them to the airport after her shift. And she got her way.

Robin stood in front of the international gate with Priam and Lon'qu, waiting for the right words for a proper goodbye to come to mind. She forced a smile. Lon'qu had a carry-on full of hair accessories and makeup in one hand and his passport with the plane ticket tucked into it in the other hand. He had a slight crinkle between his brows, which made him appear more serious than usual. Priam kept huffing and puffing beside them with his arms crossed, his foot incessantly tapping to the rhythm of his impatience.

"For Naga's balls," Priam finally cried out, shattering the uncomfortable silence.

Robin scowled, snapping out of her morose state. "Naga is a female god, moron."

"Okay, fine. For Naga's tits. And if you really want to nitpick, Naga was a dragon," said Priam. "Just give him a hug and let's go already. It's not like he's going off to die, brat."

Robin narrowed her eyes at Priam and scoffed. She was restraining herself from fighting in public with Priam. Lon'qu didn't need to see one last spat between them. "Have a safe trip," said Robin.

"Thanks," Lon'qu said gruffly.

"And remember to take care of yourself," said Robin.

Lon'qu nodded stoically, readjusting his grip on the suitcase handle. Priam sighed impatiently and roughly shoved Robin into Lon'qu.

"Ah!" Robin gasped and her face planted into Lon'qu's chest. "Hey!" shouted Robin, turning her head to glare at Priam.

"You're driving me mad!" snapped Priam. "Here, let me help you with giving a hug, since you're struggling with the concept of it so much." He grabbed Robin's arms and wrapped them around Lon'qu. Then, he yanked her arms off. "Okay. Let's go already! You got your hug."

"Seriously, Priam. What is your problem?" Robin hissed.

Priam stabbed a finger towards Robin. "You're my problem. Hurry the fuck up."

"You're such an asshole," she spat.

"I know, but I'm _your_ asshole, so you have to deal with me," said Priam.

Lon'qu sighed behind him and rubbed his temples. "I'm going to head in," he said, interrupting the two before their fight got worse.

Robin turned around, her ponytail smacking Priam in the face. "Oh, okay."

Priam yanked on her ponytail, making her head jerk back painfully. "You did that on purpose, you little shit!"

"Ow, Priam! What the hell! I didn't do it on purpose. Gods, grow up!" yelled Robin, wincing.

Lon'qu checked his watch. "That's enough." They stopped bickering, but still grumbled curses under the breaths at each other. "I should get going."

Robin's face fell and she nodded. "Yeah."

Lon'qu gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be safe while I'm gone, Robin."

Robin nodded again. "Okay."

"Oh gods, watching you two is so painful. Just gauge my eyes out and sprinkle salt in, won't you?" Priam groaned dramatically, covering his eyes with a hand.

"Priam, you say one more word, and I swear, you will not be able to leave the toilet for a week," said Robin in a low voice.

"I could sue you," said Priam. "And it could put your medical license under review."

"Oh, please," said Robin sarcastically. "I'll take my chances."

"I'm going to head in. Security checks take a while," said Lon'qu.

Robin turned away from Priam. "Okay, bye," said Robin. She watched Lon'qu pull his suitcase away from them. He showed his passport and ticket to the security person and headed to the sliding doors. His steps slowed and then paused before leaving. He turned around.

Robin waved vigorously. "Thanks for everything! I'll miss you! Say hello to Ke'ri for me!"

Lon'qu gave her a rare smile and with a small hand gesture, he disappeared behind the doors.

"Okay, let's go home. We left Gold Digger unsupervised at home. He might've crapped in the house," said Priam offhandedly.

Robin's eyes were glued to the spot where Lon'qu was just moments ago. She blinked, almost hoping that he'd reappear again. His absence chilled her. Not only did he physically leave her side, but he also took some of her security with him.

"Robin, hurry up," said Priam.

"Okay," Robin said quietly, following Priam.

* * *

Robin didn't fight Priam over what seat she could sit in. She sat in the back and kept to herself. All the snarky, sassy remarks Priam made were deflected by her depressed mood. Her cell phone kept going off beside her, but Robin neither looked nor picked it up. Priam would occasionally glance in the rear view mirror to check on Robin, only to see her slouched over to the side, staring out the window.

"Damn it, little Grima. Stop moping," he snapped.

"Okay," said Robin.

"It's not like he's gone forever," said Priam.

"Yeah," said Robin. Her phone vibrated beside her.

"Seriously, brat. Stop doing that," said Priam.

"I'm not doing anything," she said with a scowl.

"You'd almost think you were saying good-bye to your lover," grumbled Priam. He dug into his jacket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes.

"Don't smoke in here. And don't worry, you already nipped that in the bud a long time ago. Hope you're proud of yourself. You're a walking contradiction: the ultimate slut and the ultimate cock blocker," said Robin monotonously. Priam put a cigarette between his lips. "I said don't smoke in here!"

"Don't tell me what to do. I can do whatever I want." Robin glared at him and then went back to staring out the window. Priam pocketed the pack and drew out a silver lighter with a small design engraved into it. He flicked the lid open and lit his cigarette and breathed in. "And that was for your own good."

"Yup," said Robin, trying her best not to breathe in the smoke. It made her eyes water and her lungs begged for fresh air. "Completely for my own good."

"Gods, watching you follow him around like that during the summers was such an eyesore," grumbled Priam. They came to a red light. He rolled down the window and tapped the ashes off the cigarette.

"You're completely right. I was doing a complete disservice to Plegia, and especially you, by showing interest in someone," said Robin sarcastically. "I sincerely apologize for my behaviour." Her phone vibrated once more, reminder the two that she had a new message.

"Wait, did you call me a slut a second ago?" he asked.

"Wow, your hearing's going with old age," said Robin.

"You're hilarious," said Priam. He sucked on the cigarette and blew out the smoke like an irritated dragon. "I hope this one's worth the trouble."

"Whatever, you say," said Robin without any emotion, allowing his words to enter one ear and out the other. "Even if there was someone, you'd do whatever you wanted anyway."

"Stop moping. Show some emotion or something," said Priam, throwing a hand up into the air in frustration.

Robin closed her eyes, trying to block out his voice and his irritating smoking habits. She decided she wouldn't say anything. Her phone went off again and buzzed against the leather seat.

"Do you want me to answer it for you?" Priam asked out of annoyance. "Or turn it on silent. Who's texting you non-stop like that? Is it Police Stalker?"

"None of your business," said Robin.

Robin lazily picked up her arm and dropped it in the estimated location of her phone. She felt her fingers brush the phone. She shifted her hand and wrapped her fingers around the phone. Robin brought it up to her face and tapped the screen. There was a back log of texts from Chrom.

 _You doing okay? You mentioned you were roommates with Lon'qu for a couple years now…_

 _Robin?_

 _Is there anything I can do to cheer you up?_

Robin texted back a short response and put the phone on silent and put it face down on the leather seat. She didn't feel like talking to anyone.

* * *

When her phone alarm woke her up, she felt like shit. Nevertheless, Robin sat up, turned off her phone, and put it down. She had forgotten that Priam snored like a bear, unlike Lon'qu who was quiet. She had struggled to get a good night's sleep ever since he got here. Then, her phone angrily beeped at her. Frowning, she picked up her phone again and squinted at it. Her phone battery was at twenty percent.

Panic settled itself into her stomach and dug its claws in.

"What?" Robin threw off her covers and frantically searched for her phone charger. She swore that she plugged her phone in before sleeping. She never forgot. Her phone wasn't going to last the entire day on twenty percent.

Her charger was gone.

She sat on the floor for a moment, rubbing the sleep out of her face. She didn't have time for this. She had to get to work. Robin picked herself off of the floor and went to her bathroom to get ready for the day. She'd figure this out later.

When she emerged from her room, fully dressed and prepared for another day at the hospital, she saw Priam waiting for her on the couch on the living room. Gold Digger enthusiastically wagged his tail and ran towards Robin, barking at her a couple times, asking for her attention.

Robin's grumpiness from sleep deprivation showed on her face. She squatted down and patted the dog on the head. "Hey, Gold Digger."

"Morning, brat," said Priam. He yawned at her.

"Priam, did you by any chance take my phone charger?" she asked.

"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah. I forgot mine in Plegia."

"What the hell, Priam! Why didn't you ask? I needed it!" Robin shouted at him.

"Chill the fuck down, little Grima. Your phone was at thirty-five percent when I borrowed it. That's enough to get through the day." Priam pushed himself off the couch. "Mine was at five percent."

"Priam," Robin said with gritted teeth and hands clenched in fists. "Hurry up and give me the phone charger."

"No can do. I still have to charge my other phone," he said, walking past her. "Come on, let's go. You'll be fine."

This was a fantastic way to start the day.

Priam slipped on his shoes. "Hurry up, or I'll make you walk."

"You're unbearable. You should've asked!" growled Robin.

"You were asleep. I didn't want to wake you," said Priam with a smile. "Oh, and take a cab home today after work. I'm busy with something."

"Gold Digger, if you need to shit, make sure you diarrhea on Priam," Robin ordered the dog. Gold Digger had his pink tongue sticking out of the side his mouth and wagged his tail at her.

* * *

Anxiety gnawed on Robin's mind the entire day. Everything that could've gone wrong, went wrong: she assigned the wrong dose of medication for a patient (luckily, Maribelle caught it); one of her patients' family had gotten very angry and threatened to sue her; and she was getting nonstop calls on her pager about emergencies.

Once it calmed down, Robin buried her head into her arms at the nurses' station. Maribelle patted her on the head and offered her a cup of tea.

"Take it easy, dear," she said. "It happens to the best doctors." Robin nodded, but it didn't really help her feel better. "So…Phila told me that you had a date today."

Robin picked up her head and stared at Maribelle. "She told you that?"

"Yeah," said Maribelle. "Truthfully, I'm a little hurt that you never mentioned anything."

Robin bit her lip and she gave Maribelle an apologetic stare. "Oh, Maribelle, I didn't mean anything like that. Of course, I would've told you. I've just had a really rough week. A really good friend of mine left and one of my really difficult cousins moved in with me," said Robin. "He doesn't understand what privacy means, so he's been driving me mad."

Maribelle had her arms crossed and nodded. "I guess that's a fair explanation."

"I'm sorry." said Robin. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the battery level. It was at two percent. "Damn it. Maribelle do you have a phone charger?"

"No, sorry, Robin," said Maribelle. "You have just a couple more minutes before your shift ends."

Robin pursed her lip. She hadn't seen Phila since lunch break either. Her thoughts were interrupted when her pager went off. She checked the pager: the emergency room. "I was so close to finishing my shift," said Robin. But it couldn't be helped. People didn't get hurt or sick by choice, usually.

Her brisk walk soon broke into a jog with Maribelle right behind her. The elevator always took so long, so she headed straight to the emergency stairs. Robin zipped down the steps and broke out into a light sweat as she rapidly climbed down seven floors. Robin's lithe body emerged from the exit doors. She made a couple quick turns, narrowly dodging some patients and colleagues.

"Dr. Grima!" one of the residents waved her over once Robin was visible in the ER. Robin ran to their side. There were two other residents with her. Near them was a frightened young woman clad in a rather revealing and tacky outfit. One of the residents helped her put on a medical gown and slip on clean gloves.

"Her blood pressure is low and her abdomen is distended," the other resident reported. "There may be internal bleeding."

Robin pressed her fingers against the patient's stomach. It felt hard. There definitely was internal bleeding. The woman let out a cry and curled over to her side. She continued to whimper and cry. Robin peeked over to her back and felt around the left side of her back under the rib cage. This time, she let out a loud excruciated scream.

"You're right. There's internal bleeding. I think it's a ruptured spleen. Order a CT," Robin agreed. Robin's eyes wandered the woman's body. She was battered, covered in welts and bruises. There were particular round shaped burns the diameter of a pen all over her legs. She angrily frowned at the marks. Cigarette burns.

The patient was trembling and trying to hold herself together. Robin bit her lip. There was anger bubbling up from her stomach and it sickened her. "Do you know where you are?" Robin asked loud and clear.

The woman opened her mouth, trying to form words, but nothing came out.

"Is she going to be okay?" Her friend sniffled.

"Can you tell me your name?" Robin asked again, louder this time. She brushed away the light brown hair that curtained the woman's face. She had a black eye and there was dark blood that blended into her brunette hair at the back of her head. "Page Dr. Monakus. We need Libra. There's head trauma."

"Right away, Dr. Grima," Maribelle ran to the ER desk to page Libra.

"What's wrong with her?" the friend sobbed.

"We'll do everything we can," Robin reassured. "Has she been complaining about dizziness or light-headedness?"

The friend nodded.

"Dr. Grima, she's unresponsive," the resident announced.

Robin grimaced. "Check her vitals." It was most likely a result of the internal bleeding and head trauma. "Let radiology know we're coming up right now for an MRI and CT scan." The two residents helped push the hospital bed towards the elevator.

"Where are you taking her?" the friend took a grab of Robin's white coat.

"Go ahead. I'll catch up," Robin ordered. The two residents nodded at her and hurried off. "We're going to do everything we can to save your friend. Right now, I need you to wait," Robin gently placed a hand on her shoulder and then turned away to catch up to the patient.

* * *

"Page Dr. Magnus," Robin ordered as she scrubbed up for the surgery. Her focus was on the group of medical professionals prepping the OR and the patient behind the glass windows.

"Yes, Dr. Grima," said one of the nurses.

Robin pressed the pedal underneath the large metal sink, turning on the water. She vigorously scrubbed away under her nails. Then she soaped up her forearms two inches past her elbows and allowed the water rinse away the bubbles.

"Dr. Grima," said a soft voice.

"Dr. Monakus," Robin nodded once, acknowledging the neurosurgeon with light blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"I looked at the scans," he said sadly. "We're going to need to alleviate the swelling to prevent brain damage but as of now, I can't deduce if there has been any particular brain damage."

"I trust you to do a fine job," Robin forced her eyes to smile, in hopes it masked her bitterness. She gritted her teeth. How could anyone do this to someone?

"It'll be fine, Robin." The neurosurgeon reassured her as he scrubbed up.

"I know, Libra. It's just someone beat the living shit out of her. It's disgusting." Robin rinsed one last time, then she stepped on the pedal underneath the sink and turned off the water.

The nurse handed her a sterile towel and Robin carefully wiped herself down. Then she gowned Robin and helped her put on her gloves. The moment before Robin was about to enter the OR, Ricken showed up.

"I can't thank you enough for this opportunity, Dr. Grima," Ricken said in short of breath.

"Scrub up and do your best to learn carefully. I know how keen you are," she told the intern and left him to prepare. Robin entered the operating room and glanced at the clock. It was six twenty-three. She sighed. Her phone had died and there was no way to let Chrom know she was going to be really late. Or possibly miss their date.

She bit her bottom lip. She heard Libra enter the operating room. Robin snapped out of her thoughts and steeled her resolve. There was someone who needed her more. And if Chrom was going to hold this against her, then he probably wasn't worth her time.

* * *

Chrom checked his phone. She was thirty-five minutes late. One of his legs bounced underneath the table top in the restaurant. Robin didn't seem like the type of be late. He picked up his phone and texted her again.

 _Hey, Robin. Are we still on for tonight? Here at the restaurant…_

That was the eleventh text she hadn't responded to in a row today. His finger tapped on top of the table as he fixated at the phone screen, hoping she'd respond. She probably had an emergency. But was she too busy to text him that they needed to reschedule?

"Would you like to order anything, sir?" asked the waiter.

Chrom perked his head up and stared at him blankly for a moment, trying to register what he just said. It took a couple seconds, but he realized the waiter had asked if he was ready for his order. "No, no yet. Still waiting on someone." Chrom smiled politely.

"I'll be back later then." The waiter nodded.

Chrom's phone went off. His heart skipped a beat. His hand immediately flew to his phone and he checked it. Then he felt himself emotionally crash. It was from Vaike, not Robin.

 _Hey bro were going to the shephers wanna come join around 9?_

Chrom fumbled with his phone for a while. He wasn't sure if he should take the invite or not. In the end, he decided against it. He had faith in Robin.

 _Sorry, Vaike. I have a date tonight._

An immediate response came back.

 _Ohhh ;) okay dude hope you get some tonight_

Chrom brought up a hand to his face, trying to hide his blush. That was rather vulgar on a first date. And this wasn't a hookup either. Another text came in.

 _btw if u wanna join later chief told me to tell u to come pick up da guitar_

Chrom let out a long sigh. Then he shook his head and snapped out of it. He had to be strong. He would pretend this was like a stakeout. A one-man stakeout. He could easily go all night. He'd done it before.

From their previous texts, Robin seemed pretty excited about their Friday date, and seeing how honest most of her responses were, he didn't think she was lying. If she didn't want to come, she probably would've told him, not pull something like this. This wasn't very Robin-like (in his highly esteemed opinion).

He checked his phone again, hoping that he missed a text. Nothing. She was over an hour late now. Chrom struggled to keep his optimism up as every person who came through the entrance of the restaurant was not Robin. He half-expected her to come walking through the door, beautifully dressed quipped with an excellent excuse. But she didn't come.

It dawned on him maybe he shouldn't have told her that it was okay if she didn't show up when he awkwardly asked her out. He meant it as a joke. Okay, maybe half a joke.

He'd wait a little longer, just in case she showed up over an hour late. Another fifteen minutes painfully crawled by. Against his will, Chrom started to feel doubt nest into his thoughts.

* * *

"Naga has blessed us with another successful operation. Thanks for all your hard work everyone," Libra announced the end of the long operation.

They began prepare to finish up the houseskeeping tasks. Robin remained silent, her eyes boring into the unconscious girl's shoulder. The blood drained from her face.

"Dr. Grima," Libra addressed, "is something the matter?"

Robin gulped. She felt her past catching up to her, its inescapable grasp trying to pull her back in.

"Dr. Grima." Libra frowned out of concern and headed over to see what she was staring at.

It was a small purple tattoo. It wasn't a deep violet purple, but the purple of a bad bruise. It had two main branches intertwined at the bottom with three eyes on each prong. On top of it was a burn mark of three circles encompassed by bigger circle.

Robin's hands tightened into a fist. She yanked off her gloves and deposited them into the trash as she ran out the OR. Libra and Ricken called after her, but she didn't stop. She was blind with rage.

She broke out into a sprint to the waiting room area, frantically searching for the patient's friend. When she arrived, she spotted the girl sitting on a chair to the side, holding herself. Robin walked up to the friend and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"What happened?" Robin yelled, her eyes searching for the answer on the girl's face.

Now that Robin had a chance to get a look at the friend, she looked like she could barely pass for eighteen. Her lower lip trembled, threatening that she would burst into tears.

"I-I don't know," she whimpered. Her eyes wandered around Robin, taking in the fact that she still had her cap on with the mask pulled down around her neck. Then, her gaze fixated on the blood on Robin's surgical gown. The girl's tears flooded out. "Is she okay?" she desperately clawed at Robin's gown in cries.

Robin's anger subsided at the girl's tears. She swallowed. Guilt washed away her anger when she realized that she had put her own selfish interests before her professional duties. "She'll be okay." Her eyes softened.

"Thank you. Thank you," the girl repeating herself as she sobbed into Robin. Robin hesitantly brought her arms up and patted the girl awkwardly on the back.

"You should get something to eat. Your friend won't wake up for a while," Robin said softly. "Ask the nurse what room she'll be in."

Silently, Robin left and headed to the change rooms. It was probably way past seven. She felt awful once the high of the surgery wore off. Chrom probably thought she stood him up. Robin sighed.

"Robin!" shouted a voice.

Robin turned her head slowly to see her friend with the luscious blonde locks. "Maribelle, hey," she said.

"Did the surgery go well?" she asked.

"Yeah. But we'll have to wait until she wakes up to be sure," said Robin.

"I guess you missed your date, huh," said Maribelle carefully.

Robin nodded. "I feel awful because my phone died and I couldn't even let him know that I wasn't going to be able to make it tonight."

"Oh," said Maribelle. She tapped her chin with an index finger. "Was your date with Chrom by any chance?"

The surgeon frowned at Maribelle, "How…?"

"Oh, darling. I have many ways of knowing things," said Maribelle with a hair toss. Then she smiled at Robin. "He's a bit of a dork. Knowing him, he's probably still waiting at the restaurant, truthfully. Oh, if I had confirmed this earlier, I would've texted Lissa to let him know you went were called into surgery. Here, do you want me to let her know?"

"No!" Her hand grabbed Maribelle's hand before she could pull out her phone. Robin was surprised by her own outburst. Maribelle watched her cautiously. "I think I should explain it to him. I'll sort this out. Just leave it, Maribelle. Thanks though. I appreciate it." Robin hugged Maribelle tightly and then said, "I'll see you later. I have somewhere to be right now."

* * *

Robin fidgeted in the back of the cab. She hadn't even changed out of her scrubs and her white coat. "Can you go a little faster?" she asked the cab driver.

"I'm going as fast as I can," grumbled the cab driver.

Another agonizing fifteen minutes dragged by in traffic on a Friday night before she arrived at the restaurant. Robin almost forgot to pay the cab driver. She was pretty sure she threw him a fifty G bill instead of a twenty. But she didn't care.

Once Robin reached the restaurant entrance, she pulled the door. It didn't budge. It was locked. The restaurant was closed. A frustrated scream escaped from her. She was _really_ late. Robin paced around for a bit, trying to determine where he could be. There was no way she could go to his house, because she didn't know where he lived and that could send the wrong message. He mentioned that Frederick had banned him from entering headquarters until his vacation days were over, so he couldn't be at work.

Then it hit her: she vaguely remembered him talking about the Shepherds. That was her best shot.

* * *

Priam was itching for a cigarette and he was sick of all the polite, suck-up smiles everyone at the Reeking Box were giving him. He didn't care much for the pleasantries. He just wanted a well-oiled, efficient establishment. He wasn't here to make friends. He told Vincent that he'd be back after a smoke, and left through the back door.

It was a comforting ritual. The pure white stick sliding out of the pack, yet to be marred into blackened ashes. The _shing_ of his metal lighter when he flicked it open, followed by the muted hiss of the ignited flame. And the first inhale of the cigarette, filling his lungs, and the smoky exhale.

The pounding of the bass through the metal back door reminded him of how much work he still had left once he returned. Maybe he was getting old. Nah. He decided to take a little walk to get some fresh air.

Priam held the cigarette in between his fingers and breathed some of the smoke out of his nostrils. He really needed to kick the habit, but it was one of things that helped him maintain his cool. He wondered if the brat got home safe, but then shrugged the thought aside. She knew how to manage herself.

Priam sucked on the cigarette and walked down the back alleyway of the Reeking Box onto the main street. To one side, there was a long, winding queue of clubbers waiting their turn to get into the club. He watched people bustle about on the sidewalk and scurry past him. Then from the corner of his eye, he saw something that didn't fit the picture of nightlife at eleven.

A young woman with a ponytail dressed in dark scrubs and a white coat trailing behind her was running down the sidewalk on the other end. She had a large bag bouncing on her side with every step. His eyes followed the peculiar figure. She looked like Robin.

"Odd. What's she doing here?" he asked himself. He dropped his cigarette on the sidewalk and extinguished it with ball of his shoe. "Oi, Robin!" he shouted.

Robin stopped, breathless, searching for the source of the voice. "P-Priam?" She managed to say in between her desperate gasps. She watched him cross the road and make a beeline towards her. "What are you…"

"Evenin', Little Grima," said Priam with a smirk. Robin stared back at him like a deer in headlights. "Where are you headed?" he asked. Robin simply shook her head. "Meeting someone this late?" Robin's lips were pressed shut. Priam chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to eat you." He slung an arm around Robin's shoulder and started to pull her off the sidewalk.

"No, wait!" Robin lifted his arm off of herself and peaked through the window of the bar. Her eyes scanned the customers inside.

"Who are we looking for?" Priam asked in amusement, leaning in beside her.

Robin spotted a man with unmistakeable blue hair. She sighed in relief. "Just give me a minute. I need to talk to Chrom." Robin shoved her bag into Priam's arms and tried to enter the bar.

"You're not going anywhere. So Police Stalker does have a name," said Priam, hooking his hand into the back of Robin's white coat and dragging her back. "By the way, why are you still dressed like that? Didn't you go home?"

"Priam, seriously. I'm not joking around!" Robin lashed out in frustration. "Please, I just need a minute!"

"Not until you tell me why you're here," he said.

Robin gave an exasperated cry. "Seriously, what is wrong with you? Can you just not be a pain in my ass just for a minute?"

Priam shrugged. "Nah. It's too much fun. Come on, spit it out."

"I had an emergency surgery and I didn't get to meet Chrom at the restaurant for our date, okay? Happy?" she snapped. "He probably thinks I stood him up, when my phone died because of you!"

"I see," said Priam, nodding in an almost sympathetic manner. Then, he smirked. "Well, then. I'm sure a couple more hours won't hurt."

"What?" demanded Robin. Priam tightly wrapped an arm around Robin and led her across the street. "Priam, what are you doing? Let me go! I just need a minute," she hissed under her breath, trying not to make a scene.

Priam took her down the back alleyway of the club and opened the back door with a key. "In you go." He held the door open and ushered her in.

"Can we just talk at home? I really need to talk to him and clear things up," asked Robin, digging her heels into the ground. "Wait, this is one of _ours_?"

"Yeah. Lon'qu never mentioned anything?" Priam raised an eyebrow. Robin's knitted brows and blank stare gave him the answer. Priam let out a huge breath. "Of course, he didn't. Typical. Sometimes, I think he does his job a little too well. I have a lot of work on my hands then."

Priam kept a hand firmly planted on Robin's back and kept pushing her forward into the darkly lit hallway. Their footsteps played an eerie duet with the heavy bass pounding from the club. If Robin didn't know any better, she would've believed that Priam was about to murder her here.

"So how far did you guys go? What is he? Boyfriend?" he asked. They arrived at the stairs and Robin reluctantly started climbing up.

"I don't want to talk about him with you," said Robin stiffly.

"Or is he a fuck buddy?" asked Priam. There was an irritating, teasing tone laced into his questions.

"Priam, what the hell is wrong with you?" snapped Robin, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

"So, not far then and not fuck buddy," said Priam.

They reached the top of the stairs and Robin tried to make an escape, but Priam caught her by the arm again. "Ah, ah, ah!" sang Priam and chuckled. He tugged her towards him, causing her to stumble. "You're not going anywhere tonight. We're going to have a little chat."

"Priam, let's just talk at home." Robin whimpered and squirmed in his grip. "Just give me five minutes. I'm begging you."

"You must be really into this guy. I think this is the first time I've ever seen you act like this over someone," said Priam thoughtfully.

The sound of the DJ music deafened her. Clubbers gave her a funny look as they walked past. Robin felt self-conscious in her professional attire, which clashed with everyone else's outfits. Priam dragged her past the bar to another flight of stairs guarded by two large beefy bouncers. They nodded at Priam in acknowledgement.

"Don't let anyone in. I want privacy," ordered Priam the bouncers.

"Yes, sir," they said in unison.

"You're hurting me! Let me go!" Robin yelled over the music.

"Can't hear you," said Priam. "Brat, if you don't move with your own feet, I will carry you up the stairs. And you know I'm dead serious when I say this."

Robin narrowed her eyes at him. Priam had gone through with that threat before and carried her like a sack potatoes when she was being stubborn. She didn't want to test him. Grudgingly, she climbed the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, there was a double door. Priam pulled out a ring of keys and searched for the correct key. Once he found it, he unlocked the door and opened it and shoved Robin inside and closed the door behind him.

The room small, but luxuriously decorated. The walls were covered in a dark purple wallpaper with golden patterns stamped on top. Dangling from the ceiling, a chandelier twinkled at her. In the center of the room was a dark wooden table that could easily seat six people with fancy matching chairs with tall backs. A couple marked maps were spread out on top of the table with a laptop and several other pages of notes.

"Have a seat. It's soundproof. No one can hear us," said Priam, sitting down at the head of the table. "Let's talk. I have a proposition for you."

* * *

Loud, rambunctious conversations buzzed and glasses clinked in the Shepherds. The air was thick with the smell of booze and deep-fried food. Chairs scraped against the sticky floor as people rushed to the washroom. And near the far wall of the bar was a large group of people, enjoying their Friday evening.

"Bro, that's what getting stood up _means_ ," yelled Vaike. He downed the rest of his beer and slammed the mug down. "I would know. Just saying."

"She's not the type to do that, Vaike. I told you," said Chrom, growing irritated with his friend. His head was starting to pound. He couldn't remember how many beers he had. Vaike just kept ordering and pouring him more drinks, and he didn't have to the heart to decline tonight.

"Chrom, I get you're a hopeless romantic and all," said Sully.

"I'm not! Stop putting words in my mouth," said Chrom from across the table, interrupting her.

"Let me finish!" Chrom stopped talking, allowing Sully to finish. "But the fact that she didn't pick up her phone nor showed up at all means that you got stood up."

"Argh! Guys! Just stop!" yelled Chrom. He didn't need them rubbing it in, even if there was a minute chance that it was true. It still made him feel awful. "She probably had a good reason."

"Chrom, you really should stop defending her," said Cordelia. Beside her, Sumia was chugging her drink at an alarming rate. "Sumia, pace yourself!" Sumia finished her drink with great determination and slammed her cup down, causing some of her friends to flinch.

"Guys, you're all really terrible at comforting me," grumbled Chrom.

"Chrom," said Sumia. He gave Sumia his attention. "You deserve better." Sumia nodded to herself. "She doesn't deserve you." This time, Sumia shook her head.

Cordelia asked out of concern, "Sumia, how much did you have?"

Sumia covered her mouth with a hand and giggled. "I don't know."

"Ah, Chrom, it's okay. The world is full of women. There will be many more encounters," said Virion.

Chrom groaned, sinking into his seat. He didn't want other women. He wanted one specific woman. "Can we please stop talking about this?"

"Chrom, you're a great guy," said Sumia. Her words were starting to slur to the point it concerned Cordelia. "Don't let her make you feel miserable. If it were me, I wouldn't never stood you up."

"Sumia, I think you've had enough," said Cordelia sternly. Sumia pouted uncharacteristically at her best friend.

"She didn't stand me up!" Chrom protested once more. He earned himself a couple glances from surrounding strangers. Chrom wanted to disappear, but this was probably better than moping at home. However, he was starting to have difficulty on trying to take an optimistic view on what happened tonight.

* * *

It was well past one in the morning, and the club downstairs was still lively. It looked like Robin was staring at the documents spread out on the table, but her eyes were unfocused and hazy. She sat in her seat with a dejected slouch and her hands were neatly folded in her lap.

Priam knocked twice on the wood. Robin didn't move. "Are you even listening? Oi, brat."

"I can hear you," she said quietly.

"So what do you say?" he asked.

"I'll think about it," she said.

"It's really an easy answer, little Grima. It's either a 'yes' or a 'no'," said Priam.

Robin screwed her eyes shut and let out a slow, but intentional breath. "I'll think about it," she enunciated each word with a warning tone.

"I'll give you a couple days to think about. But if you know me, which you do, I usually want answers right away," said Priam.

"Priam, please, just stop talking," pleaded Robin. "Just shut up."

"Still rude as ever," said Priam.

"Just because I asked you stop talking, doesn't mean I'm being rude," snapped Robin. "You literally have all the freedom in the world to do whatever you want. Someone has always told me what to do with my life ever since I could remember. So let me keep this miniscule amount of control in my life. Let me at least have the ability to tell you to shut the hell up even if you're not going to do it."

Priam snorted at Robin, who was shaking and at the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, little Grima. I'm trying so hard to take you seriously right now and I can't," he said while snickering.

Robin sighed bitterly and turned away from Priam. Quickly, she wiped away a tear that managed to escape her watery eyes.

"Crying's not going to change anything," said Priam, getting up from his seat. He dug out a handkerchief from his pocket and tossed it in front of her.

"I don't need your pity," said Robin bitterly at Priam as he walked past her.

Priam stopped in his tracks. "You're sorely mistaken, Robin. This isn't pity. It's a choice. You can take the help I've offered you or you can deal with this on your own and try not to drown," said Priam over his shoulder.

A couple more tears left wet trails down her face. She sniffled and swallowed the lump in her throat. She glowered at the neatly folded square of fabric. Robin exhaled painfully and slowly reached out for the handkerchief. Her fingers grudgingly tightened around the fabric and she dragged the handkerchief towards her.

"Let's go home. I'm done for the day," said Priam. "Hurry up, brat. We have to check on Gold Digger. He probably crapped on the floor again. Do you know a vet?"

Robin used the table to help her stand up. With her head bowed, she wiped her moist cheeks with the back of the sleeve of her white coat. She pocketed the handkerchief in her coat.

"Yeah, I have a friend who has a clinic," said Robin.

When Priam opened the door, Robin felt the bass pulse through her. The loud music reminded her how she missed out on a lot of things most people in their twenties did for fun. She brushed the thought aside. She didn't count as 'most people'.

"I'll bring the car up near the front. Do you want to come with or do you want to meet me at the front?" asked Priam over the music.

"I'll meet you there," she said.

The headed down the stairs and split into the opposite directions. Robin backtracked her way from when she was dragged into the club, while Priam left in another unfamiliar direction. She swiftly weaved her way through all the people, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible even though her attire made her stick out like a sore thumb. She almost regretted not taking the time to change before leaving the hospital.

Once she managed to make it to the back door, she left the club and sighed in relief. She leaned against the door and rested her head against the cool metal. Her head buzzed with thoughts about the talk with Priam. Robin pushed herself off the door and headed to the main street. When she arrived at the sidewalk, a loud group of people leaving the Shepherds crossed the street and were headed her way.

"Hey, Chrom, buddy! How are you feeling?" A tan man with styled blond hair called out behind him.

Robin's eyes flickered over to the group with a newfound interest at the mention of a certain name. It was Chrom. Her heartbeat quickened and she held her breath. She didn't know what to do. Should she hide? Should she run over and explain why she didn't show up? An uneasy guilt festered in her chest, causing her feet to be glued to the ground. She hesitated and ruminated on her unforgiving and exaggerated imagination.

"Vaike, stop yelling. You're making my head spin," said Chrom to the blond man who was already on the other side of the road. "I should've never let you give me all those drinks." Chrom had an arm around a really drunk girl with ashy hair and in the other hand he had a black guitar case. The girl's head was bowed and she was struggling to stand on her own feet.

"Sumia, I don't know why you drank so much," chastised a young woman with brilliant, luscious red hair, catching up beside the girl with ashy hair. The girl's only response was bobbing her head.

Robin's eyes were fixed on the girl with Chrom. Even though she knew she shouldn't jump to conclusions, she felt a pang in her chest. She couldn't determine if she was a hook up or just a friend. Either way, the girl was really pretty.

"Hey, there," said a voice, startling Robin from her moment of speculation.

"Hello," she said, shifting her eyes about, planning an escape route.

"What's a doctor doing out here?" he asked. Robin scowled. He reeked of alcohol. "You know, I bet you're smart. And you're cute."

"Thanks," said Robin dryly. She didn't have the patience for this bull shit. She couldn't believe it, but she hoped Priam would hurry up.

"You wanna get for a drink?" he asked.

"No, I don't," said Robin stiffly. "Leave me alone."

"Wait. My buddy got stood up a doctor," Vaike said slowly. "Chrom, I found you another doctor you can ask out!"

"Vaike, what in Naga's name are you talking—" Chrom stopped mid-sentence. "Robin?" said Chrom. "Is that you?" He passed Sumia off to Cordelia without a second thought and ran over. "Hey!" He pointed to Vaike.

"Oh," said Vaike with a confused look. "Oh!" he exclaimed and did a double take. " _You_ stood up my bro!" he stated accusingly.

"Vaike, stop hitting on her. She's mine," said Chrom. He managed to make it to the sidewalk without tripping. Chrom put down his guitar and cupped Robin's face with both hands and studied her. He eyed her suspiciously but still wore a dorky smile. "Everyone says that you stood me up." Chrom pouted like a child at her. "Did you?"

Eyes wide, Robin was trying to register what was happening. "I-I…" she stuttered.

Chrom waited for an answer in his drunken state. She blinked at him, feeling her face heat up from their close proximity. Her previous fervor to find him had mellowed out after her talk with Priam, but the guilt hadn't. She wasn't even sure if this was a good idea anymore. The fact that they were off to such an awful start added to why they shouldn't even be together.

"My phone died and I got held up in an emergency surgery. I couldn't text you," said Robin, her voice quivering. She was anticipating the worst case scenario. He probably never wanted to see her again. "I really wanted to come. But by the time, I showed up at the restaurant, it was closed. I'm so sorry, Chrom. I felt so awful. You probably waited at the restaurant the entire time. I'm so sorry."

Chrom nodded his head dramatically. "Yeah, I did. I waited until it _closed_. Actually, they kicked me out." He struggled to keep his eyes open. Chrom grinned. "See? I told you I didn't get stood up!" he announced to his group of friends, throwing his arms up in the air. "I told you Robin wasn't like that!"

"Lia, I feel so sick," said Sumia. She covered her mouth and gagged. "Where did Chrom go? Did he leave me again?"

"Oh, Sumia," sighed Cordelia. "Let's get a cab before you do something you'll regret."

"Oh! I have a guitar with me. Let me play you a song!" said Chrom.

"Oh, you really don't have to," said Robin.

"Don't pull out the guitar!" hollered a girl with short red hair, making her way across the street with a man with periwinkle hair.

It was too late. Chrom had already pulled the guitar out of the case. "Sully, I _practiced_. I wouldn't make a fool out of myself in front of the girl I like," said Chrom, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He slipped the guitar strap over his head and adjusted the instrument against him.

"You're going to be forever alone if you play!" shouted Sully.

Chrom shot Robin a cheeky grin with the guitar in his arms. Robin wanted to hide because Chrom and his friends were causing such a ruckus. Then, he started to play. Her embarrassed expression soon morphed into a strained grimace. She covered her mouth discretely with a hand, hoping he wouldn't notice the utter disbelief in her face.

All the chords played epitomized dissonance and they made Robin wish she was deaf. It was almost as if he was either not trying or didn't know how to play. Behind them, Sully yelled about her ears bleeding. Virion held her down from running over to Chrom and destroying the guitar.

But that wasn't the worst part. It was his singing.

"Robin, everyone told me you stood me up," he sang, his voice off-key and cracking. "But I believed." He held out the note and made a poor attempt at a vocal flourish. "Because you're good inside!" His hand continued to strum the strings with intoxicated confidence. "But I got really drunk," he sang even louder. "Because I was afraid they were right." His voice dropped an octave. "But I know you wanna be with me too!" He strummed all the strings and finished triumphantly.

"Shut up, you drunk!" yelled a driver from a car passing by.

With Cordelia's help, Sumia stumbled her way to the sidewalk beside Chrom. Then she immediately fell onto all fours and hurled into the guitar case.

"It was so bad that you made Sumia barf, Chrom," said Vaike.

Chrom looked down at Sumia. "Sumia, you barfed in my guitar house." Then he looked to Robin with an expecting smile.

Robin stared at him with an uneasy smile. She couldn't hold it in anymore. Suddenly, she burst into an uncontrollable fit of laugher. She hugged her sides, trying to alleviate the pain but to prevail. Soon, she was gasping for air and tears escaped her eyes.

"What?" he asked dumbfounded. He couldn't help but smile along with her. "Was it funny or something?" He started giggling with her.

Robin shook her head as she kept laughing hysterically at his horrendous performance. Gods, it was just too ridiculous. Him and his friends. Him and his guitar. Him and his voice! She had never heard something so awful in her life. It was terrible!

"What?" he asked with a silly smile.

"It's just…" Robin tried to catch her breath. "It was beautiful, Chrom." A sincere smile bloomed on her face.

"Yeah? I practiced really hard," said Chrom, running a hand through his hair.

Robin laughed, playing along. "I can tell. You weren't kidding when you said you played guitar."

"Virion, did she just say it sounded _beautiful_?" Sully asked the man with periwinkle hair.

"They're both crazy," said Virion.

"Yeah, it was my first time being serenaded in public," said Robin, a giggle still laced into her words.

"Well, I'm glad I could be your first time," he said. Then he blushed. "Oh, Naga. I mean…no, not like that. Not like your first time, but like first time serenading you." He tripped over his words terribly. It made Robin giggle again.

"I don't have any change, but I can give you something else for your performance?" said Robin.

"Yeah? What?" asked Chrom.

Robin slipped her hand in his and pulled him slightly down towards her. She went on her tippy toes and kissed him on the cheek. Robin immediately dropped her head to hide her blushing smile.

Chrom's face grew bright red at the little peck on his cheek and he fumbled with his words. "So…umm…I take it that…" He faced Robin who shyly met his gaze. When their eyes met, they turned their heads away in embarrassment again. "So, if I play another song, will I get another one?"

Robin struggled to keep a straight face and a smile kept peeking through. "Chrom, go home. You're drunk."

"Okay," said Chrom, nodding.

"Umm…how does brunch tomorrow sound?" Robin blurted out.

"Huh? Brunch? Yeah, that sounds great," said Chrom.

"It's on me," she said, tucking a hair behind her ear. "To make it up to you."

"Chrom, can you please help me with Sumia?" asked Cordelia impatiently, intercepting the two. She had been trying to pick up Sumia while Chrom was flirting with Robin.

"Oh, sorry," said Chrom. He got down to help Cordelia pick up their friend.

A car impatiently honked. Robin snapped her head to the source and saw a familiar black car. It was Priam.

"I have to go," said Robin.

"Brunch tomorrow sounds perfect," said Chrom before Robin left for good.

"Okay." Robin's eyes twinkled as she waved her hand. "I'll text you in the morning and see if you're still up for it?"

"Oh, you might have to call. I tend to just go…" Chrom made a sound with his mouth while using his arm to gesture him passing out.

Robin shook her head and laughed. He chuckled with her. "Okay. I'll text you and then I'll give you a call. Good night, Chrom."

"Night, Robin," he said. "I'll play for you again!"

"Dude, I think she's being polite. I don't think she'll actually call you after you played that guitar. Man, they weren't kidding when they said you sucked," said Vaike.

"Vaike, we went over this. She's not like other girls. I told you she didn't stand me up," said Chrom happily. He was over the moon. No insult could bring him down.

Robin strategically avoided all his drunken friends got into the back seat of the car. She sighed happily and buckled her seat belt.

"What the fuck are those losers doing out there?" asked Priam.

"Having fun." Robin laughed.

Priam eyed the young man with blue hair, who appeared to be bickering with the blond man. "You really know how to pick them, don't you?"

"Leave him alone." Robin rolled her eyes.

"I'm taking it that you're saying 'yes' to our deal then," said Priam.

Robin's high came crashing down at his words. She narrowed her eyes at Priam. He had go and ruin her mood. She wondered how long he had been watching the entire fiasco. There was a pregnant silence between the two. Robin didn't want to be the first to budge, but she knew she had to answer his question sooner or later. "As long as you keep your end of the deal, yes," she said coolly, with head poised.

"I always keep my word, little Grima," said Priam, driving down the road.

* * *

Robin lied in her bed staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars she made Lon'qu stick on the ceiling for her. They provided an odd comfort for her. All of the stars were positioned so that they were all part of a constellation. She smiled as she remembered Lon'qu grumbling over the instruction map that came with the kit and something about how this wasn't in his job description. She wondered how he was doing. Then Chrom popped up in her head. She awkwardly smiled and felt her cheeks burn.

If Lon'qu was here, he'd probably find out and ensure that Chrom would stay away from her. She pouted. She wasn't that naïve and stupid. Chrom would never find out that her family had a history of organized crime.

Priam on the other hand was offering her a lot of freedom in exchange for…certain things. And tonight, she shook hands with the devil for that freedom.

Right before sleep took her, the memory of the patient's Grima tattoo with the Chon'sin Triad mark seared on her skin flashed in her head. She sharply inhaled and her eyes flew open. Her fingers balled up some of her blanket into a fist. She let out a shaky breath.

It was going to be okay, she lied to herself.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Thank you for reading! See you next chapter. :)


	16. Content

**Author's Notes:** Should I have edited one more time? Probably. Did I? No...

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Content**

Robin anxiously waited in the booth. She had arrived ten minutes earlier than calculated at the diner. She needed to kill the next ten minutes doing anything but worrying herself silly. Her fingernails tapped on the rather sticky menu. She listened to the loud buzz of conversations around her, the clinking of cutlery against plates, and the constant sizzling from the kitchen. The air smelled thick with coffee and bacon.

"Would you like some coffee while you wait?" asked a peppy waitress, startling Robin out of her thoughts. She held up a pot of black coffee in her hand and was equipped with a friendly smile.

"Yes, thank you. Could you leave some room for milk?" Robin offered the waitress her empty white cup. The waitress poured the warm black liquid into her cup and stopped a good inch from the rim.

"The cream, milk, and sugar are right over there." The waitress pointed to the end of the table.

"Okay, thank you," said Robin, reaching over to grab the small milk jug. She watched the waitress bounce away cheerfully to another table, asking if they wanted more coffee.

Robin poured some milk into her cup and watched the white swirls melt into a lighter brown with the black coffee. She grabbed two sugar packets, ripped them at the same time, and poured them into her cup. She stirred the coffee.

What would they talk about when he arrived? Did they have anything in common? Would this be the first and potentially last date? Was this even a good idea? What if he hated her after he got to know her?

Almost as if on cue, Phila's endless nagging from earlier that morning played in her head like a broken record. Something about confidence being sexy and how she needed to report every detail after their brunch date ended. Robin couldn't even remember the rest of her 'naggery' because she was so nervous.

At one point Phila suggested to imagine him in his underwear if it's _that_ bad while Robin tried to put an outfit together in her closet. Thank the gods that Aversa sent her clothes on a whim all the time. Robin was fairly certain that she hadn't worn roughly eighty percent of the clothes Aversa sent because she never had the occasion to. And she already saw Chrom in his underwear that one time he claimed that his stitches were infected. Phila laughed scandalously at the confession. That did nothing to calm Robin's nerves.

Oh gods, this was going to end badly. She could just feel it. Maybe she should just get up and leave before he came. The spoon clinked louder in the coffee cup as Robin stirred it faster.

Then her phone rang a short melody.

She released the spoon from her tight grip, letting it rest in the cup. She picked up the phone curiously. _'Here_ ' it read on the preview. Robin's heart quickened and her eyes widened. Her sympathetic nervous system was setting off the fight-or-flight signals. She needed to decide if she bolted or stay put.

"Robin, hey!" Chrom plopped down in front of her, deciding ultimately for her: she was going to fight with herself for the next while.

"H-Hi," she choked out. She tried to calm her nerves. Why was she this anxious? Robin finally mustered the confidence to look him in the face.

Chrom had slight dark circles, but he was wearing his usual, familiar grin. Robin relaxed a little and smiled back.

It was going to be okay.

"How's your head?" she asked, picking up her coffee cup with a slightly shaking hand.

"If I'm honest, pounding," he said with a low chuckle. "I usually don't drink."

"Yeah, you've mentioned that before," she said, her eyes softening. "I hope it wasn't because I upset you…"

"Oh, not at all!" exclaimed Chrom. "I usually try to avoid hanging out with Vaike, a friend of mine, if it involves women and alcohol. Last night, I wasn't too lucky since all of us were getting together."

"Oh," said Robin quietly, nodding. She sipped her coffee.

"Besides, if you never gave me that call, I probably would've slept the entire day. So I owe you one." The last couple words got lost in his yawn. "I need coffee." Chrom looked around and waved over a waitress.

"Coffee?" asked the same waitress that served Robin.

"Yes, please," said Chrom, giving her his cup. The waitress poured him some coffee and then left after Chrom thanked her. He studied the menu and said to Robin, "They have tasty pancakes here."

"I don't like pancakes," said Robin.

"You don't like pancakes," he said with a hint of disbelief.

Robin frowned a little. Did she say something wrong?

"How can you not like pancakes?" he said with a small laugh.

"My grandfather used to try to make pancakes and they were either undercooked or burnt. So he kinda ruined them for both of us," said Robin. She smiled fondly to herself at the memories.

"Okay, remind me some time to make you my pancakes sometime," said Chrom.

Robin giggled at his bold statement. "I'm guessing you make good pancakes."

"The best," he said. "Better than my sister's, Emm. And she's a fantastic cook and baker."

"Okay, maybe I'll try your pancakes," said Robin.

"What about waffles?" he asked.

"Same thing," said Robin with a shrug, picking up the menu herself. "If I remember correctly, he set the poor waffle maker on fire the last time he attempted waffles. But my grandfather made delicious omelettes and frittatas. So I usually stick with those."

"I'm making you waffles too then." He decided.

Robin chuckled and shook her head. She'd go along with it.

After they took a moment with their menus, they ordered their respective breakfast choices. Robin ended up going with a frittata and Chrom decided on the pancake special. As they waited, they conversed.

Robin had an elbow propped up on the table and rested her cheek in her hand. "Did all your friends end up making it home safely?"

"I'm assuming so. Sully and Virion are usually fine. Sumia drank a lot yesterday. I don't think I've ever seen her that drunk and I've known her for a while. She was the one who barfed in my guitar case." He paused. Then, he grimaced. Robin quirked an eyebrow at him. "I sang to you and played you the guitar. How did I forget that?" He grew redder with each word.

Robin tried to stifle the giggle, but ended up laughing out loud. "Yes, yes you did." She nodded with amusement. "I thought it was nice."

"I was bad," he said. "Like embarrassingly bad."

"Yeah, a little," said Robin, pinching the air with her hand. "But it's fine. Not as bad as me not showing up to our date last night."

"And you didn't have any change…" Chrom trailed off.

This time, Robin felt her cheeks flame up and she felt a flutter in her chest. She brought up a hand against her cheek, trying to cool it with her cold hand. "Yeah."

"And here is your food!" The waitress had two dishes in each hand. She placed the frittata dish in front of Robin and the pancake special in front of Chrom. "Careful, the frittata is really hot." They both internally thanked the waitress for showing up at that moment or things could've gotten more awkward.

"Okay." Robin nodded. "Thank you."

"Thank you," said Chrom to the waitress.

"Enjoy!" said the waitress and then skipped away.

"Well, dig in. This one's on me," said Robin. She picked up her fork to dig in.

"Yeah about that," said Chrom slowly.

Robin put down her fork and stared at him, waiting for him to finish.

"It is our first date. I feel like I should be paying," said Chrom.

"Nope. I will fight you. I'm not kidding," said Robin. "I'm paying. It's the least I could do."

"No, it's okay. Really, Robin. I want to pay for our first date," said Chrom. "And I think I owe you with the embarrassment I put you through. Last night."

"No. I said I'd pay yesterday. So I'm paying," said Robin firmly.

"Robin, I insist," said Chrom.

Robin sighed. "Okay, how about this. I'll pay. And in return, you can play me a song one day." Chrom pursed his lips at her. "Besides, you can just pay for the next date."

"So there will be a next time after today?" A smile grew on his face. He lost interest in what they were debating about just moments ago.

She felt a flutter in her chest. His eyes were on her. She realized how blue they were. Clear blue to be specific. If it were anyone else, she would've just felt downright uncomfortable and tore her eyes away, but it felt…nice. Because it was him.

"I'd hope so," said Robin quietly.

"I don't think I mentioned this, but you look really pretty today," he said.

Gods, he was killing her. He was killing her softly with words and his eyes.

A part of her thanked Phila for helping her pick out the right outfit for brunch: a dusty pink chiffon dress with floral wedges and a simple clutch. A part of her didn't, since she spent most of her morning agonizing because Phila wouldn't stop being a pain in the ass when they were video calling on the phone.

She actually felt a little over-dressed for the diner. She assumed that Gregor's might've been a cute little restaurant, but when she showed up it was a slightly run-down diner. Chrom had insisted they did the best breakfasts. But what did she know? Her and the other doctors and nurses ended up eating from the cafeteria on ground floor in the hospital anyway.

Robin gave him a shy smile and gathered her low side ponytail over her shoulder. "Thanks. You must be hungry. We should probably eat."

"Yeah," he said.

The two finally took their first couple bites. Robin glanced around curiously, finally comfortable enough to take in her surroundings. There were definitely a lot of people—families, friends, couples, and a couple lone customers at the counter sitting on top of cushioned black bar stools. It was nice to people watch in peace for once. There was even a television installed near the counter with subtitles scrolling on the bottom of the screen.

The mouth of the news anchor moved, but he was muted. Robin narrowed her eyes and read the subtitles. 'The result of the Plegian federal election is to be announced this coming Monday.'

"I guess to get to know each other better, we could ask questions?" said Chrom, stabbing the breakfast sausage on his plate.

'Presidential candidate Validar Grima was leading in the polls and is the public's favorite to win, yet again. If he is to win this election, this will make it his third term serving as the president of Plegia, the longest serving president in Plegia's history.'

"Robin?" called Chrom. "Robin?"

"Huh? Sorry. Something on the news," said Robin.

Chrom turned around to look at the screen and read a story about some new aquarium that had opened up had become the most popular attraction this year. He faced Robin again. "Do you want to go the aquarium?"

"What?" said Robin.

"That's what's on the news. The aquarium," said Chrom.

"Oh." Robin's eyes flicked over to the TV again. "No, there was something about the Plegian federal election."

"I guess since you're from Plegia, you'd be interested in that," said Chrom.

"How do you know that I'm from Plegia?" asked Robin, returning back to her frittata, but she had lost her appetite after the piece on the news.

"The accent," said Chrom. "It's not strong, but it's there. It's very soft."

"How do you know that you're not actually the one with the accent?" Robin teased.

Chrom chuckled at the question. "Hmm…I guess from your point of view, I do have an accent."

"Did you grow up in Ylisstol all your life?" asked Robin. She finally took a bite of her dish.

Chrom was chewing when she asked. He held up his index finger, asking her to wait. Robin waited for him to swallow. "Yeah. Born and raised in Ylisstol. Both my parents worked here, so there was never a reason to move. Why'd you move to Ylisse?"

"School," said Robin. "I came for med school, and then I did my residency here. Then they hired me to work full-time, so I never bothered going back home. Besides, the hours for doctors in Ylisse are far more humane and ethical than the seventy-two hour shifts they make you pull in Plegia. I could actually have a life with the schedule they give in Ylisse. Funny thing is, despite the shorter shifts doctors work in Ylisse, the system's a lot more efficient. So more is never better."

"Would you ever go back?" asked Chrom.

"Would you like me to go back?" asked Robin with smile.

"No. I've only just managed to persuade you into seeing me," said Chrom.

Robin laughed as she remembered all his awkward attempts at trying to get her attention. She had to admit, she could've been a little nicer. The twinkle in her eyes faded and so did her smile. "I'd rather not go back. But if I'm required to, I must," said Robin. She forced herself to put on a cheery façade.

"Are you busy after this?" asked Chrom.

"Wow, Officer. You have a lot of time on your hands." Robin giggled, crossing her arms. She leaned back into her seat. "Shouldn't you be chasing after someone for walking too fast on the sidewalk?"

"Ha ha," said Chrom. "I'm not allowed back in at headquarters because I'm on vacation."

"It's mid-May." Robin pointed out. "A rather odd time to be on vacation."

"My chief forced me to take some vacation days because he believed I was over-working myself," grumbled Chrom.

Robin laughed at his honest explanation. "For some reason that doesn't surprise me."

"You never answered my question. Are you busy after this?" asked Chrom.

"Yeah, unfortunately. I need to take the dog to the vet," said Robin.

"You have a dog?" he asked. "I imagined you as a cat person."

"I'm actually more of a pet rock person," said Robin dryly. Chrom sniggered at Robin's comment. "Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want. I'm one of those people who can't even take care of a cactus."

"Cacti are hard," Chrom said seriously, playing along.

"I know! That's what I told Priam!" exclaimed Robin. "And then he accused me of being a bad Plegian, because a large portion of Plegia is desert, so we're apparently renowned for our cacti and succulents, but I can never keep them alive."

Then Robin saw that Chrom was holding back a laugh just by looking at his strained face.

"Are you laughing at me?" said Robin. She had to admit, what she said was a little ridiculous. She started giggling. Chrom couldn't hold it in any longer, and he laughed with her.

"Pet rock person." He repeated her words in between breaths. "That's the best thing I've heard in a while."

Robin shrugged at him and shook her head at him. She scooped some of her frittata and ate it.

Once both of them calmed down and got the giggles out of their system, Chrom asked, "What kind of dog do you have?"

"A pug," said Robin. "I can't finish this." She pointed at her frittata. "Want some?"

"Sure," said Chrom, reaching over with his fork. "What's its name?" He ate the speared chunk of egg and vegetables.

"Gold Digger," said Robin.

Chrom immediately covered his mouth before he could splutter out the contents of his mouth all over his date. As he tried to swallow, the frittata went down the wrong pipe. Robin sat there with eyes wide in concern.

"Are you okay?" asked Robin, readying herself to get out of the seat.

Chrom shook his hand and head as he coughed. He beat his chest with a fist. His face was bright red.

"Are you choking?" demanded Robin.

"I'm…" He painfully coughed. "…fine." He reached over for his cooled coffee. He managed to wash down whatever was in his throat. After a couple more attempts at clearing his airway, he settled down. He let out a breath. "You named your dog a very unique name."

"I didn't name him," said Robin. "You sure you're okay?" Robin waved over the waitress. "Excuse me! Could I get a glass of water?"

"Of course," said the waitress.

"And he's not mine," said Robin.

"Why 'Gold Digger'?" asked Chrom.

"The owner is…special," said Robin. She highly doubted that Chrom would ever meet Priam. That would be nothing short of disastrous.

"Here you go." The waitress dropped off a glass of water.

Chrom thanked the waitress and downed the glass. "Are you done?" he asked as he watched Robin pick at her food.

"Yeah," she said, putting her fork down.

"I'm going to run to the washroom. Be right back." Robin watched Chrom get up and leave. She took her phone out of clutch and texted Phila.

 _I think I almost killed him because of what I said…_

Phila immediately gave her a response.

 _What did you do? HAHAHA_

Robin pursed her lips and texted back.

 _He asked about Gold Digger while he was eating and he choked_

Phila gave one curt answer: _LOL_.

Robin groaned. She knew it was silly to think that she could get straight sympathy from Phila. Phila had a tendency to give Robin perspective on her fretting as over-thinking. She dropped her phone back into her clutch.

"Okay, do you wanna head out?" Chrom returned again.

"Sure," said Robin.

He offered his hand to help her up. Robin was about to reach out for it and then withdrew it. The only thought she had was whether he washed his hands. She had just fought Priam the last couple days about the importance of _not_ scratching his balls and cooking with dirty hands. And the importance of washing hands after using the washroom. Then Priam would argue that all men were like him. All men.

"What?" asked Chrom with a confused smile.

She wanted to ask, but decided against it. Did she really want to confirm what Priam said? Not really.

"Nothing," said Robin. She shook her head and took his hand. He helped her up. "I'm going to go pay." Robin pointed to the cash register.

"I already took care of it," said Chrom.

"What? Why?" asked Robin. "Damn it, Chrom."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. You can get the bill next time," said Chrom, ushering her out of the diner.

"Ah, Chrom! Been a while since Gregor last see you," shouted a man from the kitchen with a thick accent. He waved his spatula at them.

"Hey, Gregor," said Chrom and waved back.

"You bring girlfriend with you?" he asked. "She looks different from last time."

"I'm guessing you bring all your dates here when you have brunch?" asked Robin with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Chrom shook his head.

"Uh-huh." Robin nodded very slowly.

"No!" He protested on more time when he saw Robin's disbelieving face. "Gregor, Sumia and I are friends. Stop teasing me, old man."

"Okay, okay. Gregor said too much." Gregor held up both hands in surrender. "Please don't arrest poor Gregor, Officer. I am innocent, yeah? Go now. Shoo. Go enjoy the weather. Come back again with your girlfriend, yeah?"

Robin gave who she assumed to be the owner a small wave and headed out the door. To Robin's relief, wedges were definitely easier to walk in than pumps. Chrom followed after her.

"Don't mind Gregor. He says things," said Chrom.

"Yeah, okay." Robin put on a small smile.

"You said you were busy after this, right?" asked Chrom.

"Unfortunately. Why? Did you have something in mind?" asked Robin.

"Not in particular. Maybe a walk around the park here and we could get to know each other better?" suggested Chrom.

"I'd really like that, but I need to get to the appointment. It's a bit of an emergency," said Robin apologetically. "I really enjoyed having brunch with you. Raincheck on frolicking around in parks?"

"Yeah," said Chrom nodding. "Do you want me to walk you home or something?"

"Nope, I can manage on my own. Someone's meeting me somewhere and picking me up," she said.

"I thought Lon'qu left for a couple months," said Chrom.

"A…cousin of mine is staying with me," she said. She didn't meet his eyes and instead decided to focus on the pretty flower basket hanging on the lamppost.

"Oh, cool," said Chrom.

"But next time, I'm getting the bill," said Robin. She lightly punched him on the door.

"Careful, you just assaulted an officer, Miss," he joked.

Robin rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Anyway, I'm going to head off. Have a nice day, Officer." She saluted him.

"You too, Robin." His eyes crinkled when he smiled at her. It made the ends of Robin's lips to curl in response.

"Okay, bye." She finally resisted the pull between them and walked away.

* * *

"Stupid dog crapped in the car," grumbled Priam. "Leather seats, brat! Leather!" Priam's ranting had caused people to give him and Robin side-glances in the waiting room of the vet's office.

Robin hated it when people stared at her like that. She hissed, "Stop being a bitch about it. And shut up. Maybe if you'd stop feeding him human food and actually give him some kibble he'd be fine."

Gold Digger was lying in Robin's lap, panting as usual and occasionally he would lick his lips, which usually included licking his nose too. She stroked him on the head.

"And where did you find this outrageous collar?" Robin snapped. She glared at the ridiculous gold chain with a gold bone attached to it with 'Gold Digger' inscribed into it.

"Are you on your period?" asked Priam loudly, earning the two more looks. "You were happy just an hour ago. Did he not want a second date? I told you that you should've just kept your mouth shut and wore a low-cut shirt." Robin exasperatedly cried out in frustration. "Would you like a tampon, Little Grima?" asked Priam.

"Priam, shut up," hissed Robin.

"Gold Digger?" asked a nurse. The tone of voice he used betrayed that he wasn't sure if that was the real name or a joke. Robin held Gold Digger against her chest and stood up. "Just follow me." Robin trailed after the nurse and Priam stuck behind her too. The nurse took them in an examination room. He weighed Gold Digger and did other preliminary tests.

Every time the nurse asked Priam a question about his dog, Priam frowned at him and spat, "How am I supposed to know that?" Robin would then rub her temples and demand how he didn't know his own dog. At the end of the exam, the nurse uncomfortably excused him and told them to wait for the vet to come in.

"Now he thinks we're neglecting Gold Digger," said Robin.

"Let him think whatever he wants," said Priam.

A pink haired woman walked into the room with a file tucked under her arm. "Robin! Hey," greeted the vet.

"Cherche, it's been a while, hasn't it?" asked Robin. The two women walked over to each and hugged.

"Yes, it has been a while," agreed Cherche. "And what brings you here? I don't remember you having a pet."

"My cousin is staying with me for a bit," said Robin, gesturing to Priam. "It's his."

"You're dressed so nicely! Are you going to something?" asked Cherche.

"She had a date," said Priam, earning him a glare from Robin. "If looks could kill."

Cherche stared at Robin and then Priam with a perplexed face. "With whom?"

Before Robin could answer, Priam answered once again. "With the po-po."

"Priam, shut up," said Robin.

"Po-po?" asked Cherche.

"It's what we call the police in Plegia. They don't like it when we call them that," said Robin.

"Oh, you're seeing a policeman," said Cherche. "Did I get that right?"

"Yeah," murmured Robin.

"Now, I'm curious. I think I'll give Phila a call later." Cherche giggled.

"You never told me your vet friend was a beautiful woman," said Priam. He shoved Robin aside to introduce himself. "I'm Priam."

"Just call him dickhead," said Robin.

Cherche smiled politely and looked back and forth between the two. "Nice to meet you."

"You're from Rosanne, aren't you?" asked Priam with a charming smile.

"Yes, I am," said Cherche.

"I've been there before. I really enjoyed the Royal Garden they had in the capital. The flowers were truly beautiful. But it's not nearly as beautiful as the Rosannian women," said Priam. "And you are no exception."

"Oh my gods, Priam. Don't hit on my friend. Cherche, don't listen to him. He's HPV positive. He literally thinks with his penis," said Robin. "And he says that to every pretty girl he sees. He even said some bullshit line to the old lady that owns the building I live in. Something about how beauty gets better with age, like wine, or something stupid like that."

"Seriously, Little Grima?" snapped Priam. "And I'm not HPV positive. She's lying."

"Remember, Virion? Your ex-boyfriend? He's worse than him," said Robin.

Cherche's face darkened at the mention of the certain name. "Anyway, what's wrong with…Gold Digger?" Cherche read the chart. "Wait, is that the actual dog's name?"

"It was the only thing he'd respond to," said Priam with a shrug.

"You know, you're supposed to train your dog to know its name. You could've named it anything," said Cherche. "Hi, Gold Digger." Chercher petted the tired pug on top of the examination table.

"It's no use, Cherche. Priam is too dumb to understand such a simple task, let alone execute it," said Robin.

"Watch it, brat," said Priam with a warning tone. Robin glared at him and then returned her attention back to Gold Digger.

"He keeps feeding him human food. I think that's why he keeps having diarrhea," said Robin. "I suggested we not feed him for a day to let everything pass, but Gold Digger starts to whine and then Priam feeds him again. I'm pretty sure he's eating garbage and cigarette butts too when Priam takes him out."

Priam scoffed. "He does not eat garbage and cigarette butts. Stop twisting the facts."

"Hmm…" hummed Cherche. "I think you had the right idea, Robin. Why don't you keep an eye on him this time?" she spoke to Robin.

"Me?" asked Robin.

"Yeah, it seems that your cousin is having some difficulty with taking care of Gold Digger. So, just until he gets better, maybe it'll help if you do what you originally planned on doing. I can prescribe you some medicine, but if it's not necessary, I'd rather not," said Cherche.

"Yeah, I understand," said Robin.

"Come back if not giving him anything to eat for twenty-four hours doesn't work," said Cherche.

"Got it," said Robin. "Do you have any suggestions for dog food?"

"I can write a couple down for you," said Cherche. She pulled out a pad of paper and pen from her pocket. She clicked the pen and scribbled some things down. Then, she ripped off the sheet and handed it to Robin.

"Thanks you're the best. We should grab coffee some time," said Robin.

"Definitely. If we can manage to find a day that we both aren't busy." Cherche laughed.

"Yeah, damn our schedules, huh?" Robin chuckled with her. "Okay, Gold Digger, time to go home." Robin picked up the tired pug into her arms. "Please don't poop on me," she begged. "Priam, let's go get some kibble."

* * *

A young girl sat in her bed, her attention on the ocean outside her window. Her long black hair was gathered to one side over the shoulder. The patient had a couple framed photos on the dresser and personal objects decorating the room. She hummed along with classical piece playing in the one earphone she had stuck in her ear.

"Ke'ri," said a timid voice.

The girl turned around and beamed. "Nurse Olivia!"

"It's time for your medication." The nurse with the pink ponytail offered her a short paper cup with different pills accompanied with a cup of water.

"Thank you," she said. Ke'ri threw all the pills into her mouth and washed it down with a painful gulp of the water.

"You're the only kid who can do that." Olivia said half-amazed.

Ke'ri shrugged. "Better to get it all down in one go."

"Where's your brother?" asked Olivia. "He was here yesterday."

"I demanded he buy me persimmons, but they don't grow in the spring. So he'll probably return with strawberries." Ke'ri pouted playfully. "I think he said an acquaintance of his also bought me some gifts, so he's fetching those too."

"Ah, I see," said Olivia.

"Why? Are you interested in my older brother?" teased Ke'ri. "He is pretty good-looking, huh?. And single."

The nurse blushed furiously at the comments. "No, I was just curious. You seem to be in a better mood is all."

"Well, I'm just saying. You're my favorite nurse, so I wouldn't mind giving my brother away to you," said Ke'ri. "I gotta give him away for marriage in case I die first."

"Oh, Ke'ri. You're not going to die." Olivia's eyes softened at the girl.

"You never know," said Ke'ri cheerfully.

Olivia reached over and squeezed Ke'ri's hand. "It'll be okay. I better get the medicine to the other patients," said Olivia and turned around to open the door, but someone opened it on the other side. The nurse backed away at once so she wouldn't get smacked by the door. "Ah! Excuse me."

"Hello," grunted a tall man with a serious expression. He had the same thick black hair as Ke'ri.

"Lon-lon!" exclaimed Ke'ri. She eyed the large carry-on bag and the grocery bag held in each hand.

Lon'qu stepped aside and allowed the nurse to take her leave. He heard her murmur something and then scamper away down the hall. He frowned and then closed the door behind him.

"Don't frown! You'll get wrinkles!" Ke'ri lectured him.

"I bought strawberries instead," he said, putting down the carry-on bag Robin had packed for him. He put the grocery bag on top of the hospital bed table and wheeled it over to Ke'ri. "They're all washed and cut."

"I wanted persimmons," said Ke'ri.

"They're not in season," said Lon'qu.

"Fine," said Ke'ri. She unwrapped the plastic bag and took out a plastic container with plump, red strawberries. "They look good." Lon'qu grunted. "What's that?" Ke'ri asked with a mouthful of strawberry. She pointed to the duffel bag.

"All yours," said Lon'qu. "After you eat."

Ke'ri obediently munched away on the strawberries, while Lon'qu made some tea in the corner. "Is she a competent nurse?" he asked.

"Who? Olivia?" asked Ke'ri.

"The one with the pink hair. She blunders a lot," said Lon'qu. "Does she do a good job of taking care of you?"

"She's shy. She's just not comfortable around new people," said Ke'ri. "I've known her since she started doing her nurse training thing here. She's great. Lon-lon, don't give me that patronizing look. It's fine."

"Since when did you learn big words like 'patronizing'?" He raised an eyebrow, walking over with two steaming cups. "Careful." He placed Ke'ri's mug carefully on the table.

"Han'na on the fifth floor and I read books together after lunch," said Ke'ri. "It's nice to see you again. I missed you a lot."

"It's nice to be back." Lon'qu ruffled her hair.

"Stop!" whined Ke'ri, swatting his hand away. "I'm not five!"

"Hn," he scoffed.

"Otay, don da stawbarries," said Ke'ri with the last couple berried stuffed her in mouth. She resembled a hamster that managed to hide all its snacks in its cheeks. She pointed to the carry-on bag and made a sound. Lon'qu didn't move and watched his little sister with an affectionate smile. She snapped her fingers and pointed to the bag again. Red strawberry juice dripped out of her mouth. She swiped it with the back of her hand and slurped.

"Take it easy," said Lon'qu. "You're going to choke." But he did what she asked anyway. It was hard to say no to her. Lon'qu pushed the table aside and plopped the bag onto the bed.

"What's in it?" Ke'ri unzipped the bag excitedly. "Wait, you didn't get buy me those books on growing up or 'the talk' again, did you? Because that chapter on periods was awful and I'm pretty sure the book on sex was for kindergarteners. And I live in a hospital Lon-lon. I think most of the questions I could've asked Olivia." Her hands were placed on the lid of bag, eyeing Lon'qu suspiciously.

Lon'qu's eyes narrowed in a flustered manner. He opened his mouth to say something smart, but he couldn't think of anything to cover up for his fail from a couple years ago. After the two stared at each other for a couple more seconds, Lon'qu finally said, "I didn't buy anything, if that is any reassurance. Robin did."

"Robin?" Ke'ri perked up.

"Yes," said Lon'qu.

Ke'ri twisted her lips to one side and furrowed her brows. Then her face lit up. "Oh! The lady who picked up when you were in the shower. Oooh!" She wiggled her eyebrows at Lon'qu.

"Ke'ri!" he said.

He heard his little sister gasp when she finally opened the bag. Inside the bag was a rainbow of hair accessories, jewelry, and trending makeup products.

"Lon-lon. I love her already," squealed Ke'ri. "I can't even right now."

"Can't even, what?" asked Lon'qu. He was getting difficult to understand some of the stuff Ke'ri said lately.

"There's even a letter!" Ke'ri waved an envelope in front of Lon'qu's face. "It says, 'Read When Alone'. Okay, Lon-lon, take a hike!" Lon'qu chuckled and sat tight. She pressed the letter against her chest and then slipped it under her pillow. "Fine, I'll read it later."

"We can give Robin a call later, so you can say thank-you," he said. Ke'ri was thoroughly occupied with studying each one of the treasures that Robin sent. "Ke'ri."

"I heard you," she said. Ke'ri was busied herself, laying out everything on her bed. She gasped again. "Lon-lon! These are the limited edition lip tints from Bonbon! And she sent every colour. Lon-lon, this girl is awesome. I love her and I haven't even met her." She held up a handful of boxes different shades of pink, orange, and berry. He sipped his tea in silence and allowed his little sister enjoy an early Children's Day.

"She even sent bracelets and hair bows that are trending this spring from Dice." Ke'ri continued to admire every single object she delicately pulled out. "How close are you with her again?" she asked. "This must've cost a lot. I mean, like, _a lot._ "

"Work acquaintances," said Lon'qu.

"Close enough. You two should get married." Ke'ri decided her older brother's future.

"Ke'ri," said Lon'qu, taken aback at her boldness.

"I approve of her!" Ke'ri grinned. "I will give up my older brother for marriage. What does she do for a living? Is she pretty? What's she like?"

"She's a surgeon," said Lon'qu. He took a moment to think about whether she was pretty. He remembered how she'd lounge around in a baggy t-shirt, usually without a bra, with a pair of shorts or sweatpants. Her hair would be pulled into a very lazy and messy bun that would lop to one side. He didn't feel like he was in the place to determine if Robin was pretty or not since they had a strictly professional relationship.

"What's that?" Ke'ri cupped her ear to the air. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay."

"What are you doing now?" asked Lon'qu, starting to feel tire from Ke'ri's energetic dismeanour.

"Just talked to Mom and Dad in heaven…" Ke'ri pointed up at the ceiling. "And they approve too. Yeah, that's right, Lon-lon. You should put a ring on her finger before someone else does." She tapped her left ring finger. "You're not getting any younger."

Lon'qu's eye twitched. She was sassing him. Since when did she learned to sass? She used to be timid and kept to herself.

"Ke'ri. Stop," said Lon'qu. He sighed. He couldn't tell if he was tired because of Ke'ri or the jetlag. It was probably both.

"Okay, fine," said Ke'ri, pouting and settling down. "Yu'li from upstairs knows how to use makeup really well. I think I'll go visit her later."

Lon'qu nodded. He had no idea why girls and women got so excited around makeup, jewelry, and clothes. What was so enticing about it all? He'd never know.

"But just saying, Lon-lon. Next thing you know, you'll be forty," said Ke'ri. "I have to give my brother away to a reliable woman."

"I haven't even reached thirty yet, so I think I'm doing fine," said Lon'qu. "And shouldn't this be the other way around, where I give you away?"

"Nope. Times have changed, Lon-lon. Times have changed."

* * *

Robin lounged around on the sofa while giving Gold Digger a belly rub. It was nice to get out the wedges and dress. She was in her comfortable clothes again: a baggy shirt and skinny yoga pants. She pulled her hair up from the low ponytail to a poorly attempted bun on the side of her head.

"Who's a good boy?" cooed Robin, scratching the pug's tummy. He wagged his tail overjoyed by the attention. "Yes, you are. Gold Digger is a good boy."

"Don't you go out on Saturday nights with friends or something?" asked Priam.

"Don't you?" asked Robin.

"Well, if you're available, you might as well come to the Reeking Box with me," said Priam.

"Oh, I think I hear my phone," lied Robin. She reached over to the coffee table and texted Phila that if she came to Risen, she'd pay for coffee and pastry of her choice and spill all the details of her date. Robin didn't even have to wait ten seconds.

 _15 mins_

Robin had fifteen minutes to change and get to the twenty-four hour café. "I have plans now." She rolled off the couch and got up. "I need a ride."

"Drive yourself," said Priam.

"Unfortunately, because _you_ taught me how to drive, I got my license suspended," snapped Robin.

Priam snorted, smugly happy with himself. "Only if you say 'Please, Priam, I would've never made it this far in life without your help'."

"Like hell I will. I'll take a cab, asshole," said Robin. She ordered a cab on her phone app and went to her room to change.

"I offered," said Priam.

"And don't you dare feed Gold Digger anything!" Robin hollered from her room.

When Robin scrambled out of her room to meet up with Phila, Priam stopped her by the collar of her sweater. "Not so fast," he said.

"I'm going to be late!" snapped Robin.

"Tomorrow, you're mine for the day," said Priam. "Clear your schedule."

"Fine," grumbled Robin.

"Have fun then." Priam shoved her towards the exit. He checked his pockets for his pack of cigarettes.

"Don't smoke in the house!" hollered Robin before leaving for good.

* * *

Robin arrived a minute before Phila, so she grabbed a seat on the upper floor and texted Phila that she had arrived. She was happily snug in her soft, fuzzy sweater with her yoga pants. She had her legs crossed and was leaning against the barrier, watching for her friend. Her foot bounced pleasantly and Robin smiled at her colourful pair of runners. The runners that Aversa sent her, she did like very much.

Comfort was the best.

Phila walked into the café and spotted Robin. She waved her to come down and buy her food. Robin slung her cross body bag over her head and ran down the stairs.

"Been a while, dearest." Phila grinned at Robin. Robin linked arms with her friend.

"What would you like, darling?" asked Robin.

"Oh!" Phila gasped. "We have to try the cherry blossom latte. It's new."

"Okay!" said Robin.

"And I want one of those cake things. Hmm. Should I get Tiramisu or Red Velvet?"

"I'll get the Tiramisu and you can get the Red Velvet. And we'll share, like we usually do," said Robin.

"You're a genius," said Phila.

They waited their turn in the line. After they ordered and their drinks and cakes came out, they headed upstairs with their tray. Both of them tasted the new latte and agreed that it wasn't nearly as good as the pumpkin spice latte that came out in autumn. The cakes were delicious though.

"Oh, so I just got a call from Raimi and she's coming back this week!" Phila exclaimed.

"That's awesome, Phila!" Robin perked up and smiled.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we've seen each other, so I'm really excited," said Phila. "So we can all hang out some time when she's all settled in."

"Yeah, of course," said Robin.

"You know, you seem happier today," commented Phila.

"Hmm?" Robin took another bite of Phila's red velvet cake.

"I don't know. You just seem happier than usual," said Phila.

"I don't feel different," said Robin.

"I get the feeling this guy's good for you," said Phila.

Robin rolled her eyes. "It was just a first date."

"Is there going to be a second date?" asked Phila with an arched brow and a smirk.

Robin flushed and dropped her gaze. A smile spread on her face. "Maybe. He said something about making pancakes and waffles for breakfast for me some time."

"So, essentially, he invited you over the sex. Interesting," stated Phila. She sipped her latte calmly.

Robin's eyes flew to Phila who had reached over and took a chunk of the tiramisu. "I…wait…no," Robin tripped over her words.

"Yes," said Phila, extending the word and nodding her head. "Or are you supposed to get up at like six in the morning and go over to his place for breakfast?" Phila scoffed and chuckled at Robin. "Sure, hun. You think that. What grown-ass man invites a woman over for _pancakes_?" demanded Phila.

"I really think he meant making me pancakes and waffles, Phila," said Robin quietly.

"Okay, take it as however you want." Phila shrugged with a cheeky grin.

"What if you're wrong?" asked Robin.

"Mmm…if I'm wrong, I won't drink coffee for a week," announced Phila.

She was confident that Chrom's invitation was sex. Really confident.

"But what if I'm right?" Phila giggled and had a sly, yet overjoyed expression.

Robin felt entire face flare up again. "If you're right, I will bring you homemade or bought lunches of your choice."

"Deal!" Phila extended a hand out. Robin grasped it firmly and they shook on it.

* * *

Robin stirred awake from a rather poor night's worth of sleep. Gold Digger was feeling miserable the night before, so she reluctantly took him to bed with her. But the damned pug snored the entire night. He was as bad as Priam.

Robin peered at the pug, curled up atop her blanket. He was still snoring, but at least his diarrhea stopped. Perhaps she would feed Gold Digger later tonight if he was better. Robin scratched Gold Digger's ear. She kind of liked him.

Absentmindedly, Robin reached over for her phone and then yanked it, causing the charger to pop out. She unlocked her phone and checked the notifications; there were a couple texts from 'Police Stalker'. She felt that she should change his contact name at some point. She opened their text conversation to read what he had sent.

 _Good morning! :) Are you up?_

The text was time timestamped at '6:23 AM'. "Who in their right minds would be up that early on Sunday?" grumbled Robin. She rarely got up before ten thirty on Sundays.

 _I had a great time yesterday_

 _I remember you saying you hated pancakes but you were willin to give mine a shot_

 _So wanna come over for pancakes?_

Robin blinked at the question, wondering if she read that right. Pancakes…he wanted her to come over for pancakes. An invite in the morning. Not at night.

There were a couple more texts timestamped at later times.

 _I think you might still be asleep  
let me know when you're up_

"Take that, Phila!" Robin shouted in triumph. Gold Digger woke up with a start. Then he bounced about on Robin's bed with equal excitement. She took a screenshot of the conversation and sent it to Phila with a single text: _Be prepared for a week of hell without coffee._

Robin was about to send her acceptance to Chrom's offer, but her thumb stopped mid-air. Gold Digger climbed into her lap and nudged her hand with a wet nose, asking her to pet him.

"One sec, Gold Digger," said Robin with a fallen face.

Priam made her promise to clear her schedule for the day. She sighed. Next time. Pancakes would be next time.

 _How about another weekend? I'm sorry but I'm busy all day._

Robin tossed her phone by her side and pet the awkward pug with the gangster collar. "How's your tummy?" Robin asked the pug.

Her phone made a sound, notifying a text came in. She checked her phone and saw that Phila had responded.

 _YOU TWO ARE LOSERS! IT'S LIKE WATCHING CHILDREN DATE. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP MY COFFEEEEEE. NEVERRRRRRR._

Robin snorted at the text. Eh. She proved to Phila that it wasn't a ploy of Chrom trying to get into her pants. That was good enough for her. But the next text from Phila made her scowl.

 _Morning wood._

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I just want to say a special thank-you to those who always take a couple minutes to leave a review. You know who you are! ;) It really does make my day and lets me know that you are enjoying Pursuit so far, especially since I invest of time and effort into each chapter.

If people are too shy to say anything on the reviews, PM me or review with an emoticon. I love hearing from the readers, and I know I've become buddies with a couple readers already.


	17. The Walk

**Author's Notes:** I had to change up the way I was doing the text conversations. They were getting hard to write/read. Hope it doesn't bother people too much.

* * *

 **Chapter 17: The Walk**

The Reeking Box had a completely different atmosphere during the day. The normal lights of the establishment were switched on, illuminating the black floors of the club. The bright coloured lights that lit up the bar were turned off, giving off a dull appearance. Staff members vigorously scrubbed the tables and mopped the floor which had a residual stickiness left from the drinks spilled the night before. Behind the bar were two bartenders wiping down cups for in preparation for the night.

Robin's eyes darted around, watching the staff clean up the club. All of them looked up at least once with curious stares as she followed Priam. Her hand tightened around the leash. From Robin's experience so far, most people would stop her during a walk to pet Gold Digger, but none of the staff came over to play with the pug. She quickened her steps to catch up with Priam. She bent down and picked up Gold Digger when they reached the stairs.

"A word, please?" asked a sultry voice.

Priam stopped mid-step on the stairs and turned around. Robin looked behind her and saw a woman probably in her forties. She had an unbalanced bob framing her sharp facial features. Her lips were plump and apple red and her black eyeliner accentuated her feline eyes. Robin knew it when she saw it. It was the power look. And this beautiful woman knew how to wear it well.

Priam sighed and climbed down the stairs with pronounced annoyance in each step. Robin put the fat pug down.

"What do you want Cheryl? You've been a pain in my ass ever since I've arrived," said Priam. Robin sat down on the stairs and decided to watch.

"My girls are going missing," the woman stated coldly.

Robin's thoughts flashed to the patient she had treated on Friday.

"How do you know they haven't run away?" asked Priam.

"Because I know my girls," said Cheryl. She crossed her arms and leaned to one hip.

She must've been a model when she was younger, Robin thought to herself. She was very tall, lean, and had long, elegant limbs. Cheryl had the facial structure that high fashion often favoured. Robin wondered how she ended up working here. In fact, how much did she know? Was Cheryl in the periphery or was she embedded in the syndicate?

"I know you don't want me to go to the police. Lon'qu was much better at dealing with our problems," said Cheryl with a smirk.

"You." Priam pointed to Cheryl. "Upstairs now." Robin immediately stood up and stepped out of Priam's way. She waited until Cheryl was behind Priam before picking up Gold Digger and climbing up the stairs herself.

Priam and Cheryl were already in the room that Robin had struck a deal with Priam just two days ago. She felt physically repulsed by the room. Gold Digger whined beside her. It took a lot of self-control to enter the room, but she swallowed hard and stepped inside.

"There are three girls missing," said Cheryl, who had settled herself into one of the seats. "What's going on?" she asked with a ferociously glare. "My girls are frightened. And I promised each and every one I'd protect them."

"Cheryl, it's complicated," said Priam diplomatically.

She scoffed and said, "That's reassuring."

"Lie to your girls. Tell them that the missing girls were transferred. If you go to the police about this, you know it'll complicate things," he said. "We're doing what we can. I'm advising you that you stay quiet about this or we'll have to take our own measures."

Cheryl gave Priam a downright offended expression. "How dare you? Are you threatening me?"

The hairs on Robin's skin stood on their ends at the heavy shift in air. Even Gold Digger quietly nestled down in a corner, keeping to himself. Every now and then he'd sigh or make a grunting sound.

"Don't get excited." Priam rolled his eyes and shook his head impatiently.

"I'm not getting excited!" shrieked Cheryl.

"If you went to the police, you and Vincent would be the suspects. Not me," said Priam in a bored tone. "And I think we have a bigger problem. You're using under-aged girls on the second floor." Cheryl opened her mouth to say something, but Priam cut her off. "Don't even try to fucking lie to me. I know a teeanged girl when I see one no matter how much makeup you cake on her face. Now do your job, or I'll bring someone else to do your job."

The rage Cheryl felt surfaced on her body. Her face was red and she was shaking. Her previous calm and cool façade had vanished.

"Now are we done here?" asked Priam.

The chair scraped loudly on the floor when Cheryl abruptly stood up. She looked like she had more to say, but she didn't say anything. Priam politely smiled, which enraged her furthermore. Robin apprehensively watched the two. She had pressed herself against the wall beside Gold Digger. Despite what Gold Digger did, such as licking his balls and trying to humping a lot of objects in the house, he was pretty smart, considering he was staying out of this.

"You may leave," said Priam, waving his hand towards the door.

Cheryl cried out in frustration. She stopped right near Robin and glowered at her. Robin looked away. "Are you supposed to be his new whore?" She spat the words in disgust at Robin.

"Watch your mouth." Priam warned darkly. "I have no patience for your tantrums today."

Robin chose to remain quiet.

"Have fun sucking his cock," she hissed. Cheryl slammed the door behind her.

"Crazy woman," grumbled Priam. "Ignore her, little Grima."

"Prostitution is illegal in Ylisse," said Robin. Gold Digger stood up again and shook himself, causing some of his fur to fly around.

"A lot of things are illegal everywhere, little Grima," he said nonchalantly. "But there are always loopholes. What we're doing is completely legal."

"Forcing young girls to have sex with older men is legal?" Robin narrowed her eyes at Priam and crossed her arms.

"No one said anything about prostitution. Your family has been in this business for generations. You think no one would've been able to figure shit out by now? And sit down. You're irritating me by standing in the corner there." Robin stood her ground for a couple more seconds and then walked over and sat down in a chair. "No one is here against their will. Second floor is where our VVIPs can enjoy themselves in private in the presence of lovely women. We're keeping things classy in Ylisse."

"Classy, tch." Robin scoffed with disturbed smile.

"And don't let her fool you into thinking I'm the bad guy," said Priam.

"You are the bad guy," she said.

Priam continued. "She's a lot more manipulative then she lets on. Cheryl is only in it for her own profit. She doesn't actually care for 'her girls' as much as she claims she does."

"What happens if they accidentally lure in the authorities?" asked Robin.

"Escort services are completely legal in Ylisse. As long as none of the girls offer paid sex, there's no trouble." He took out his pack of cigarettes and singled out a cigarette.

Robin groaned, burying her face into her hands. "Please, don't smoke in here. I'm pretty sure, I'm going to smell like cigarettes soon. Or get lung cancer."

Despite Robin's protest, Priam lit the cigarette and sucked on it, helping it to catch the fire. He let out a long smoky breath.

"Now, we've had a couple instances where sex was offered, but Lon'qu dealt with that really well," he said. Robin's eyes flicked up to meet Priam's. He smirked. "You've always had a soft spot for him. Maybe it's a good thing he's left for a while." The smoke made her eyes water.

"Why? What did he do?" asked Robin quietly. She wondered how he was doing. She hadn't heard anything from him after he left, but that was probably for the best. They weren't friends, and he probably wanted to be left alone.

"Well, he made it clear that if they want to be paid for sex, they would have to do it outside of our establishment. Then, it's no longer our responsibility since they signed a contract and we're good. It would be like having two part-time jobs. As long as one doesn't interfere with the other, we don't care. But let me remind you that they wouldn't have our protection then, would they?" Priam tapped the cigarette into the glass ash tray on the table.

Robin's hands balled up into fists under the table. None of this felt right.

"Now would be a good time to throw your morals out the window, little Grima," said Priam. He stabbed the remainder of his cigarette into the ashtray, extinguishing it.

"What about the missing girls?" she asked.

"I'm dealing with it," said Priam without an ounce of concern. "It happens. Sometimes it's simply collateral damage to what we do."

"How could you say that?" shouted Robin. Gold Digger barked underneath the table from Robin's outburst. "They're people too!"

"I know they're people, brat. But you seriously have to aim to look at the bigger picture," said Priam.

"You're terrible," she said.

"Sure. Now, shall we get started?" he asked.

"Wait."

Priam sighed impatiently. "What now?"

"I think I know where one of the missing girls are," said Robin. "I might have performed surgery on her on Friday. Do your girls by any chance have the Grima tattoo on them?"

"Yes," he said, frowning at her suspiciously.

"This patient had one, but the Chon'sin Triad symbol was seared on top of the tattoo," said Robin. "Priam, I've mentioned this before to Lon'qu, but I think…you guys expanding too quickly."

"Since when did you care about what we did?" Priam asked with amusement.

"Since innocent people are being affected," said Robin. "The police are going to want to talk to her. I don't think she's woken up yet, though. Or if she has, she's probably still delirious."

"Keep me posted on that," said Priam.

* * *

"Reporting for duty," said Chrom, in front of Frederick's desk.

Frederick unlocked the bottom drawer of his desk and handed back Chrom's badge and firearm. "I hope I won't find you sleeping at your desk again."

"That won't happen, sir," said Chrom.

"We've had some new developments since you've been gone," said Frederick.

"Progress, Chief?" asked Chrom eagerly.

"Yes," he said. "Go talk to Sully about it. She'll catch you up. You're dismissed."

"Sir," said Chrom. He left to go find Sully.

Sully was talking to Kellam when Chrom spotted them. She had a large stack of files in her arms. Kellam handed her another file.

"Here are the notes from the interrogation. I don't think they'll be too useful though." Chrom overheard him.

"Thanks, I'll take a look at it," said Sully.

"Hey, Sully," said Chrom.

"Oh, hey. You're back. Thank Naga," said Sully. "Everyone wouldn't shut up about how much they missed you at work."

"You also said you missed him too," said Kellam.

"No, I didn't," Sully snapped at Kellam.

"Chief told me to come talk to you. He said that there have been some new developments?" Chrom took half of Sully's files.

"Yeah, walk with me? I need to get these downstairs," said Sully. Chrom followed behind her. "So we got lucky. We had someone come forward with a video they took."

"A video?" asked Chrom.

"Yeah, with their cell phone." Sully shifted the files onto her hip so she could press the elevator button.

"Why didn't they come forward sooner?" he asked as they waited for the elevator.

"I think he was scared. He looked like he was just a kid. At least he didn't post it on the web, Chrom. We got lucky because the kid's best friend is currently attending the police school and persuaded him to bring it our attention," said Sully. "Anyway, Cordelia did some analyses on the video and we managed to get a match for the license plates in the video and from the debris from the explosion."

"Okay, and how does this help us?" he asked.

"Let me finish," said Sully. The elevator arrived and they stepped in. "Can you get B4?"

"Yeah, I got it," he said, pressing the button.

"We have a blurry picture of a suspect installing the bomb onto the van and there was some other person supervising him. The guy supervising him had a Chon'sin Triad crest on his jacket," said Sully.

"We have a lead then," he said.

"I suppose so. But we need to find the suspect first, but neither the whistleblower or the video helped with the description of the suspect. For all we know, the Triad might've already killed him off," said Sully. "And we're still not sure if there's a connection to Amelie's Bakery or not."

"Can I take a look all the evidence?" asked Chrom.

"Later," said Sully. "We need to get to the hospital, we got a call on last Friday about a possible physical assault. We tried on the weekend, but she was still out. I got a call that she woke up today."

* * *

Libra invited Robin to visit the patient they had treated together. On the way, Libra notified her about that the patient just woken up today. When they arrived at the patient room, Libra knocked softly and entered the room. The patient sitting on the bed was pale and her head was wrapped up in bandages. Her friend from the night before was dozing off in a chair beside her.

"Good morning, Miss Blythe," said Libra. "How are you feeling today?"

"I have an awful headache," she murmured. "Everything hurts."

"The headache is normal. We'll see what we can do for pain," said Libra with a kind smile. He pulled out a small flashlight from his chest pocket. "Can you keep your eyes open?" He moved the flashlight in front of one eye and then the next. "You're doing great."

Libra asked her to do other tests that involved moving her hands and fingers and being able to feel touch on her skin. "Everything seems to be in order. Miss Blythe. As it is our responsibility to contact the authorities when we believe there has been physical assault, a couple police officers should be on their way to ask some questions."

The patient's eyes widened. "N-No. I don't know anything! I didn't do anything wrong!" She trembled in her bed, her eyes widely darting around for an escape.

Robin brushed past Libra and addressed the patient. "Hey, hey. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay," the girl cried.

"You said you don't remember anything, right?" asked Robin in a soothing voice.

The girl nodded. Libra's brows furrowed.

"Then, that's all you have to tell them. Amnesia is a normal explanation for why you don't remember anything," said Robin. "It'll be alright."

"I don't remember anything." The patient nodded.

During this time, her friend woke up and squinted at them. "What's going on?"

"It's fine. We have it all under control," said Robin. "Your friend should make a good recovery with rest. Now, Miss Blythe, I'd like to talk to you about what to expect since you've had a splenectomy."

* * *

"That's the last time I listen to you for directions," snapped Sully.

"How was I supposed to know that the Pega wing was on the opposite end of the hospital? I don't work here," said Chrom.

"We've wasted twenty minutes walking in circles," said Sully. Sully continued to bicker at him and Chrom chose to block most of it out. They had finally managed to make it to appropriate wing and waited at the elevator.

"Chrom? What are you doing here?" Both of them turned their heads to see a young woman in pink scrubs and curly blonde hair.

"Hey, Maribelle." Chrom greeted her with a polite smile. "Work."

"I see," she said. Her eyes wandered up and down their uniforms. "Did you have to wear your guys' uniforms? Couldn't you have just worn formal clothes instead? You're making some of the patients nervous."

"Sorry, Maribelle," said Chrom. "But it is called a uniform for a reason."

"So I heard you're seeing Robin, huh?" asked Maribelle.

"Oh, shit. Is she talking about the poor girl you drunkenly sang the most awful song in the world to?" Sully snorted, watching her partner blush. "She wasn't scared off by the stunt you pulled?"

"I…umm, yeah," said Chrom. "Why are the elevators so slow here?"

"They're always slow," said Maribelle. "Where are you guys headed?"

"Pega five," said Sully.

"I think Robin might be there," said Maribelle. "I'm headed up there too."

"Great, I guess we can head up there all together then," said Chrom.

A couple more people gathered before the elevator finally came to the ground floor. The ride up was quiet, seldom a couple coughs here and there. One or two people got off at each floor, and once floor five came up, they were the only three left.

Sully and Chrom ended up following Maribelle in case they got lost again. A tall figure with blonde hair in a white coat left the room they were looking for. Maribelle left to do her duties as a nurse and wished them good luck. Inside the patient room, there was a tired looking patient, an equally exhasuted friend yawning in the chair, and a female doctor with a long ponytail chatting with them.

Sully knocked on the open door. All three women snapped their heads to the door and stared. They were all visibly tense at the sight of the two police officers.

"Hey, Robin." Chrom smiled at the female doctor. Everyone else turned their attention to her.

"Hi," she said quietly. "What can we do to help, officers?"

"We got a call about a potential case of physical assault," said Sully. "I'm Officer Cove, and this is Officer Exalt. May we have a word with you, Miss Blythe? In private?" Sully glanced at Robin and then the friend.

The patient looked to Robin with a desperately worried visage. She mouthed something back to her patient. "I'll be right outside. Please don't stress out my patient. Let's wait outside, Melanie," said Robin.

The girl in the chair stood up and followed behind Robin. She closed the door behind them. Chrom saw the two waiting outside through the window. He nodded once to let Robin to know that he had this under control. She responded with a weak smile and then turned her head away.

"Would you like to tell us what happened?" asked Sully. "Do you know how you got hurt?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know."

"Anything at all?" asked Chrom softly. "Maybe what you were doing before you ended up in the hospital?"

"I don't remember anything." The girl refused to look at them. "I had brain surgery. She said it's normal if I can't remember things. And if it was traumatic, my memories may have been suppressed." The patient anxiously fidgeted with her hands. She sniffled and wiped away the tears that escaped. "I'm so scared. I have no idea what happened."

"Okay, thank you for your time, Miss Blythe," said Chrom.

"Wait, I have more questions," said Sully in a low voice.

"She doesn't remember anything. And I don't think right now would be a good time to question her further. We should let her rest," whispered Chrom. He smiled gently at the patient. "If you do remember anything, please let us know. I'm sorry that whatever has happened to you, happened. It shouldn't have."

Chrom ushered Sully out of the room. Outside, they were met with a cold surgeon. Her arms were crossed and her expression, frosty.

"No harm done," said Chrom.

"If making my patient cry means no harm was done, thanks," said Robin dryly.

"Are you the one who brought her in?" Sully asked the girl beside Robin.

Hesitantly, she nodded. "I went over to her house and I used the spare key to let myself in because I lost contact with her for a couple days," the friend said quickly. "I just found her like that."

He saw Robin put a hand on the girl's shoulder. She quited down at her touch. Chrom nodded and scribbled down something in his notepad.

"I think that's enough, Officer," said Robin.

Chrom stared at Robin with a neutral expression, but deep inside, he was perplexed to her rather hostile behavior. He didn't expect her to come greet with him welcome arms or anything, but he also didn't expect her to be this distant.

"Have a nice day, Dr. Grima," said Chrom. "Let's go, Sully."

When they were out of earshot, Sully said, "Is it just me, or is she normally that cold?"

* * *

Robin had a bad feeling about the two girls at the hospital. She tapped a finger against her phone screen in the back seat of the car. Priam periodically glanced at the rearview mirror.

He finally asked, "What? Why do you like a desert rabbit about to run away?"

"Priam." Robin inched herself forward on the edge of the seat. "I need you to move two girls out of the Ylisstol. I feel like something bad is going to happen to them."

"Based on?" asked Priam.

"Intuition," she said. "And my intuition is rarely wrong. It's saved me quite a few times in surgery too."

"That's very unscientific of you," he said.

"I know, but I can't explain everything with science. Sometimes, things are just are as they are," she said. "I think they're going to kill them off."

"Who? The Triad?" asked Priam.

"Yeah," she said. "As soon as they leave the hospital. When they're no one's concern anymore. Cheryl isn't going to want damaged goods. They have nowhere to go. Going back home doesn't sound like an safe option either. The syndicate could use them to their advantage to get the police on the Triad's tail. You said escorting in Ylisse was legal, so it wouldn't come back to bite us. But it'll still be a headache for you. But I feel like they're going to kill them off. It's the safest option for them. I think they botched the job and the girl lived. It just doesn't make sense they'd let her off like that. She's not technically important to the syndicate, but there were obvious signs of..." Robin paused for a moment, and then continued. "Torture. Or they're toying with you."

"And how does it benefit us to move these girls out of Ylisstol?" asked Priam. "Shouldn't we question them ourselves?"

"She doesn't remember anything. And she has the Grima insignia on her shoulder. You think the police don't know what that is? She was lucky that the patient gown covered it," said Robin. "Unlike the Plegian Police Force, they're not bought out by the syndicate. The Ylissean Police Force aren't as corrupt. They'll still sniff around. That's why I said she could be a headache for you."

"You would know because you're sleeping with one of them, right?" asked Priam. "How does that make you feel?"

Robin sighed irritably and sank back into her seat. "I tried to warn you. And leave him out of this."

"He seemed to have a pretty impressive CV. Officer Chrom Exalt." Priam enunciated each word with a teasing tone.

She picked her head and watched his eyes on her in the rearview mirror. "How do you know his name?"

"Oh, little Grima. It really isn't that hard to hack a phone. Especially when you have the best hacker as a resource," said Priam nonchalantly.

"You promised," she angrily hissed.

"I didn't promise you that I wouldn't hack your phone, little Grima. And this was before we struck our deal." He chuckled. "I still have to do background checks, in case he's a crazy axe murder or who knows, a serial rapist."

Robin went silent.

"I'm kidding. He's squeaky clean," said Priam. "And I'll look into what I can do for the girls. Why are you trying to help?"

"I'm not helping you. They seemed like good people. They're from a town northeast from here." She scoffed. "They came to be actresses."

"If I had a G for every time someone said that, I'd be the richest man in the world," said Priam.

"If you just quit smoking, you'd be the richest man in the world."

* * *

 _Did I upset you?_

Chrom stared at the message he typed up. Was it worth it to send? After today's visit, he felt that he had gone back to the start to when he first met Robin. It was eating away at him. He thought they had come closer to each other, but apparently not, especially after today. But he had his own job to do as well. There was no harm in asking, right? It was better than Vaike's suggestion—asking if she was on her period. Chrom knew better than to ask that, since he grow up with two sisters.

He sent it. Then he waited and waited. Instead of waiting for another ten minutes, he decided to clean up the mess he made from making dinner. As he did the dishes, he felt his phone buzz in his back pocket. He turned off the water and wiped his hands on his shirt. He dug his phone out of his pocket and checked it.

 **Robin Grima:** _No. Why?_

Chrom couldn't tell if he should be overjoyed or cautious of such a short text. Women were so difficult to read sometimes. One time, he told Cordelia she looked tired and she was irritated with him for three days. Sumia had to tell him that she didn't wear makeup that day.

He had to be strategic about texting.

 **Me:** _You seemed a little distant when I saw you today_

 **Robin Grima:** _No I wasn't_

 **Me:** _You sure?_

 **Robin Grima:** _yeah, I was just being professional_

Chrom scratched the back of his head as he re-read her most recent text. Did he just buy it and let it go? She _was_ fairly distant when he was her patient. He decided he'd let it go.

 **Me:** _Oh, okay._

 **Me:** _what are you up to?_

 **Robin Grima:** _about to walk GD_

 **Me:** _GD?_

 **Robin Grima:** _Gold Digger_

He chuckled at his phone. What a ridiculous name. He wanted to meet the dog. He sounded like he had personality. No dog was named 'Gold Digger' without some personality. But more than the dog, he wanted to see her. He wanted to make her smile, get to know who she was, her likes and dislikes…the list went on. But it felt too forward to invite himself on the walk.

His phone went off in his hand. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the text preview.

 _Wanna join me?_

Yes! He would love to join her. He enthusiastically texted back. They figured out where to meet, and Chrom went to his room to grab a jacket.

* * *

It was a bit of a trek since Akaneia Park was past Ephraim Park. The days were getting longer, and the sun set later. But the evenings were still chilly, a reminder that summer had yet to come.

Chrom spotted a young woman with a long ponytail holding the leash of a small dog near a bench. The dog kept wandering around her and she would patiently untangle herself from his leash without looking away from her phone.

Chrom called out her name. She picked up her head and tucked her phone into her jacket pocket. She waved and tugged the leash to encourage the pug to run follow her, but the pug resisted. She sighed at the dog and picked him up and walked over to meet Chrom.

"Good evening," she said.

"Hey." He grinned at her. She seemed to be more at ease than earlier today. Maybe it was just her professional manner. "So, this is Gold Digger."

The pug had his legs ungracefully tangling in the air. His body was rotund for a small dog. His face was wrinkled and his muzzle was black. He had a perpetually sad, yet awkward expression with his tongue hanging out to the side. Around his neck was a pimped out gold chain collar with a matching gold nametag in the shape of a bone that read 'Gold Digger'. Gold Digger licked his slobber off his lips and licked his nose at the same time. He huffed at the sight of Chrom.

"Yup, this is the famous Gold Digger," said Robin. "I was just telling him that you thought his name was funny. I think you're going to have to really try to make it up to him to get him to like you." The ends of her lips curled and she giggled at him.

Naga, her giggle sounded wonderful after a day filled with gloomy 'developments'. "Hello, Gold Digger." He gently grabbed the pug's paw to shake it, but Gold Digger withdrew his paw from Chrom's hand and turned his head away.

Robin laughed. "Gold Digger, he's trying to be nice." The pug snorted. "He's usually pretty friendly. He's a bit of an attention whore actually. Be nice to Chrom."

"Is this how you usually walk him?" he asked.

"No, he's just being a stubborn butt today," said Robin. She put Gold Digger down. The pug happily scampered off forward, leading the way.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Same old. Saw sick people. Did what I could," she said with a shrug. "You?"

"First day back. I have quite a bit of catching up to do," he said.

"That's understandable," she said.

Then came the silence.

Gold Digger's paws clicked on the brick path. Other evening strollers walked past them. Chrom looked around and saw that Akaneia Park was pretty nice with trees and flower gardens that were planted by the city.

"Do you want to hold the leash?" asked Robin.

"No, I don't think he'd like that very much," said Chrom. "Maybe when he likes me a bit more."

"Okay." She chuckled, following Gold Digger.

Again, silence.

This was driving him mad. He wracked his brain for something to talk about. They could talk about…gods, why was this so hard? He looked around his surroundings to see if something could inspire him. He saw trees, flowers, lampposts, people, and there was a couple making out on a bench. Chrom averted his gaze. It felt rude and intrusive to watch them.

"So, uh…do you like lampposts?" His voice cracked at the end of the question. Damn, wrong conversation starter.

Robin turned her head to face him with a raised eyebrow. "Umm…I guess?"

"Cool, cool," he said. Robin probably thought he was a loser for sure now.

Gold Digger stopped in his tracks and turned around to face them. Chrom swore the dog was laughing at him. What a sassy dog.

"Did you always want to be a cop growing up?" asked Robin.

"Oh, hah! I actually went through a lot of phases of wanting to be different things," he said.

"Yeah?" Robin's eyes twinkled with curiosity. Her lips were curved in a small smile. He wondered if they were as soft as they appeared and as delicious as they were peachy pink. He swallowed the thought away. "Like what?" she asked.

"When I was five, I wanted to be a dragon," he said.

Robin laughed. "A dragon?"

Her laugh was addicting. He wanted to hear it again and again. "I know. I was a weird kid. But not just any dragon. A manakete." Chrom laughed with her.

"Okay, what about when you were a little older?" asked Robin.

"Around seven, I wanted to be an archeologist because I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I could barely say the word 'archeologist' because I lost both my front teeth at the same time in a soccer game. I remember practicing for days with both my parents and Emm pronouncing the word as slowly as possible for me so I could learn how to say it," said Chrom. "Didn't make help. Still said it with a lisp."

"You lost _both_ teeth at once? What did you do to lose both at once?" asked Robin, her smile never fading from her face.

"Vaike and I were on opposing teams that game and we were fighting over the ball and I can't remember exactly what happened after that because I lost my front teeth and he had a black eye when I gained consciousness," said Chrom.

"Wow…that's pretty intense for a children's game," said Robin. "Who's Vaike?"

"The blond guy who was talking to you on Friday. We grew up together. Actually, a lot of my friends at work and I grew up together," answered Chrom.

"That must've been nice," she said.

"Yeah, but they know everything about you and will still bring up embarrassing stories when we're all drinking," he said.

"Okay, so after archeologist, what did you want to do?" Robin appeared to be quite invested in his childhood growing up.

"I think I was eleven or twelve when I decided that I wanted to be a world traveler. I had maps plastered on my wall for years," he said.

"So, you must be pretty good with maps then, huh?" she asked.

"A little rusty, but I can assure you we'd never get lost," he said.

"Okay, I will remember that," she said. "So then, why a cop?"

"I was originally studying to be a lawyer. My father told me I had to grow up once I reached middle school. He was a lawyer and he wanted someone to inherit the firm. He thought that Emm was too soft to run it, so he set his sights on me. My mother was a private investigator for the law firm. One of the best in her field," he said.

"I see. So then, what made you switch?" asked Robin.

He went quiet. The previous excitement that had been built up drained in that split second. "Umm…they were murdered because of a certain case and I felt that I would rather be in a job that catches criminals than defending them."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up such a sad memory," Robin said quickly.

"It's fine. It was years ago," said Chrom. He offered her a smile to reassure her, but it didn't make the crease on her forehead disappear.

"I'm sure they would've been proud of you." She gave a weak smile.

"Anyway, what about you?" he asked.

She stared off into the distance. "Mmm…never wanted to do anything with my life," she said.

"But you're a doctor," he said. "That takes a certain amount of dedication."

"It's not as great as everyone chalks it up to be. You're in school and if you include residency, for quite a while. I didn't get my full license until just two years ago. If you're not from a wealthy family, enormous student debt. You have patients who constantly do the same thing that harms their health and they come back for more medication again and again. It's a lot of emotional stress. One mistake and you could kill someone," she said with a small shrug. "A lot of us burn out. Fast."

"So there was nothing you wanted to do when you were growing up?" asked Chrom.

"It was never a luxury I had," she said.

Luxury. For Robin, dreaming was a luxury. It made his own father look like a saint.

"Okay, so then, why doctor?" he asked.

"My father," she answered simply. "And he was specific too: trauma surgeon. So here I am. Trauma surgeon." Robin smirked at him, the twinkle in her eyes no longer there. "Who cares. I don't think a lot of people enjoy their jobs. I fall into that category. I may not love my job, but I'm decent at it. I guess that's all that matters."

"So if you could pick something now, what would it be?" he asked.

"I'm not fond of 'what if' questions, truthfully. What's the point?" she asked.

Chrom felt her retreating back. He had just managed to coax her out by opening himself up. "Just humour me, Robin," he said lightly.

"I like eating and sleeping," she said. Chrom laughed at her blunt answer. "What?"

"You could be a food critic. Or a chef," he said.

"Lon'qu's a great cook, actually. He should've been a chef," said Robin. "I used to bake a lot with my grandfather, but I was never nearly as good as my mom."

"So can I expect a homemade cake for my birthday?" he asked. Robin stared at him. "I'm kidding, Robin."

"When's your birthday?" she asked.

"Robin, don't worry about it. I was just teasing you," said Chrom.

"No, seriously. When is it?" she asked. Her eyes bore into him. She wasn't going to let this go.

"May twenty-seventh," he answered her.

"That's pretty soon. It's the seventeenth today," she mumbled to herself.

"Robin, I was joking." He almost felt bad for even asking.

"No promises, but I'll see what I can do," she said.

Robin looked up ahead. Gold Digger had plopped down on the path, tuckered out. "Gold Digger, don't you dare make me carry you home _again_." Robin threatened the dog as she tugged at the leash. Gold Digger lazily turned his head back to the two and barked a couple times. "Don't sass me, you shit. The only reason you don't have diarrhea is because of me. You should be grateful." Robin sighed and walked over to the pug and picked him up.

Chrom laughed at the girl in the ponytail and her silly pug. "It's not funny," she said. "He's heavier than he looks."

"Do you want me to carry him?" Chrom offered out his arms.

"Sure," said Robin. When she tried to transfer Gold Digger to Chrom, he growled. "Maybe next time. I think he's playing hard to get."

"Yeah," said Chrom. He had no idea what he did wrong. And as much Gold Digger didn't share the same sentiments, he liked him.

"Wait, when's your birthday?" asked Chrom.

"October," she said.

"October?"

"Tenth."

"That's an easy one to remember. It's ten, ten," said Chrom.

"Yeah," said Robin. She shifted Gold Digger in her arms. "You're going on a diet, fattie." The pug sighed in her arms.

"Hey, Robin," he said.

"Mmhmm?" She tipped her head to the side in question.

"Do you want to do something this week?" he asked.

A smile spread on her face and that twinkle in her eye was back. "Like what? What do you have in mind?"

"Anything you want," he said.

"Will you let me pay this time?" She narrowed her eyes and shot him a suspicious look.

He tried to match her stare but couldn't. He had no idea why she was so adorable when she was annoyed with him. "Fine." He gave into her. He had a feeling he was going to give into her a lot.

"Hmm…what could we do," she said out loud. "I don't have work on Wednesday because I have a double shift tomorrow. But you probably work on Wednesday and I'll probably be sleeping after the graveyard shift. I'm free most evenings and the weekend. Wait, on-call on Saturday. How about we'll talk about it if one of us comes up with a good idea?"

"Sounds good," he said. "So, did you see the news today?"

"Mmm?" Robin moved the dog to the other side. "Gold Digger, you little tank."

"Validar Grima won the election in Plegia again," he said.

"Oh. Yeah, not surprised," murmured Robin.

"He must be doing something right to win the federal election three times in a row," said Chrom.

"Yeah, I guess," said Robin.

"You two aren't related, are you?" asked Chrom with a chuckle.

Robin slowed down and kept her gave eyes on the ground. Gold Digger sneezed. "That's like asking if every Hanes in the country of Ylisse is related," said Robin.

She had a fair point. Chrom remembered having at least one Hanes in each grade from kindergarten to his final year in high school.

"I should go home. Long day tomorrow," she said softly. She bent over and placed Gold Digger on the ground. He immediately lied down on the ground. "Really? Gold Digger? You're going to seriously make me you carry you home?"

He barked once.

"You're the worst," she said.

Chrom chuckled at her and the pug. He watched the pug wag his tail when she reached out to pick him up again.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" he asked.

"No, I'll manage. Besides I have Gold Digger if anything happens," she said.

"For some reason, I don't feel too reassured." Chrom stared at Gold Digger who was enjoying himself not having to finish his walk. In addition, he was small, unlike the police dogs, which were brave and loyal Gonderan Shepherds.

"It's fine, Chrom. I can manage on my own," she said.

The idea of a young woman walking home alone in the dark didn't sit right with him either. His sisters would never forgive him if they knew and his parents taught him better than that.

"It's dark out, Robin. I want to walk you home," he said firmly.

She finally turned her head and looked at him. She tipped her head to the side and studied him. Her stare made him feel like he was on the examination table back at the hospital again, except this time he had his pants on.

"Okay. I don't think you'll take 'no' as an answer," she said.

"I've been on a lot of cases where women were attacked at night when they're alone. I'd rather not have anything happen to you. I know I can't protect everyone, but if I can protect someone, I'll die trying," he said.

Robin chuckled beside him, easing the tension. "Don't worry, Officer. I don't think you'll die walking me home. And umm...thanks for your concern."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Thank you for reading another chapter. :) And thank you for leaving such sweet reviews last chapter. I was having a rough time and it really cheered me up.


	18. Reminders

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for the delay. :( There been a lot going on in my life...

I'm not too sure about the flow of this chapter, but I felt that I was overdue for a post, so here it is.

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Reminders**

Robin rolled out of bed well past late afternoon on Wednesday. She groaned as she rubbed her eyes and headed to the washroom. Once she was done her half-assed morning routine, she stepped out into the living room.

"Holy titty fuck. What happened to you?" asked Priam. "You look disgusting."

Robin shot him a sarcastic smile in response. "No one cares, Priam."

"I'm sure your po-po does," said Priam.

"Stop calling him that," snapped Robin.

"That wasn't part of our deal," sung Priam.

"I don't care if it wasn't part of our deal. If he's going to be called 'po-po', only _I_ get to call him that," said Robin.

"Gods, the only thing you've gotten good at is jabbering with that irritating mouth of yours," said Priam.

"And the only thing you've gotten good at is being a shitty bodyguard," said Robin. She looked around for the dog and spotted Gold Digger hungrily eating out of his food bowl. She frowned. That didn't look like kibble at all. It looked like milk and cereal. "Priam, what is wrong you?" she growled. "Are you trying to kill my dog?"

"Oh-ho! Since when was he _your_ dog?" asked Priam, crossing his arms with an amused smile.

"Bad dog!" yelled Robin. "Leave it! Step away from that bowl."

Gold Digger paused for a moment and stared at Robin. Then he slowly lowered his head back down into the bowl and began to eat the contents with a newfound speed.

"Gold Digger! You're going to get diarrhea!" She ran across the living room and pushed the pug away with her foot and snatched the food bowl away. Gold Digger barked in protest. "Zip it, missy." Behind her, Priam laughed.

"Are you free today?" he asked, picking up Gold Digger who was still barking. He firmly closed Gold Digger's muzzle and said, "Enough. I'll give you something better later." The dog made a grumbling sound and stopped. "And remember to be an asshole to the po-po," he whispered loud enough for Robin to hear.

"Priam, stop calling Chrom 'po-po'," said Robin. "You make him sound like an idiot."

"He probably is, since he's seeing you," said Priam. "Anyway, brat, you didn't answer my question. Are you free today?"

"Depends. Maybe Chrom's idiocy rubbed off on me and I can't understand what you're saying," said Robin.

"I'm not going to uphold my end, if you're not going to," said Priam. "I have nothing to lose, little Grima."

Robin sighed in exasperation. "I'm free for the rest of the day."

"Okay, good. I told Vincent to take care of club anyway. I got everything I needed. I'm going to stay home with my favorite Grima," said Priam. He put Gold Digger down, who padded over to Robin and clawed at her leg and whined.

"Stop that, Gold Digger." Robin stepped away from the pug. "Aversa's your favorite Grima."

"Nah. It's much more fun to be around you. I can't tease Aversa, she doesn't get worked up. It's not funny," said Priam.

"Let me feed Gold Digger and you can do whatever you want with me," grumbled Robin.

"You make it sound like I forced you into this," said Priam, feigning hurt.

"You essentially did," said Robin, walking away. She dumped the contents of the dog bowl in the sink and opened the pantry. She scooped some kibble into the bowl and then took it back to Gold Digger's corner. The pug eagerly followed her with an enthusiastically wagging tail.

"Hurry up. I got invited to a lingerie party later this evening. I want us to finish up before then," said Priam.

"Priam, how many kids do you think you have? From the women who you impregnated and had no idea about?" asked Robin, hoping to get on his nerves.

"Probably the number of months since you last had sex," said Priam nonchalantly. "So I don't know maybe a hundred?" Robin's mouth dropped open. Priam snickered. "Little Grima, just let me know if he gets bored in bed. I can teach you all the ways of pleasuring a man." Robin blushed furiously and clenched her mouth shut. The knuckles of her fisted hands were turning white. "And there you have it, Gold Digger. One of many ways to silence Robin Grima."

Robin shoved Priam aside as she walked past him while calling him a string of colourful words. Priam stumbled back a step and chuckled. Grudgingly, she sat down on the couch and waited. Priam went to his room and reemerged with a small stack of folded papers. He threw them onto the coffee table in front of Robin. She glared at the papers and then him.

"Unfold them," he ordered.

She reached over and began to unfold the first paper. Once she was done and spread it out on the coffee table, she frowned.

"What is this?" she asked.

"You can't tell what it is? Wow, po-po's idiocy really did rub off on you," he said.

Her eyes darted studying the map in front of her. It was heavily marked up with purple and red. There were certain areas that were shaded in with unevenly spaced black lines. She recognized the street names—Marth, Valencia, Main, and so on.

"Welcome to the underground of Ylisstol," said Priam with a wide grin.

* * *

A double date this soon in their 'thing' was intimidating. (Robin wasn't sure if they should call it a 'relationship' because that sounded like it carried a lot of weight and commitment.) However, with the arrival of Raimi, Phila insisted that they come to the photo exhibition that Raimi's colleague had put together. Robin was in the OR all day today and she was exhausted. Priam's incessant chirping of every outfit Robin coordinated didn't help alleviate her fatigue. She changed at least seven times before leaving the house. She had no idea why she even listened to Priam critiquing each of her outfits, but she did. His advice wasn't actually terrible, even though she'd never admit it.

Ironically enough, they, as in Robin and Priam, settled for a navy sleeveless dress that had a mesh bodice with an A-line skirt. Did she want to wear a dress? Not really. But she shaved, so she decided to take advantage of it. She wore scrubs more than she wore anything else anyway. It was nice to dress up once in a while.

Robin texted a thank-you to her dear sister for sending her such nice clothes, but then immediately regretted the text because Aversa demanded pictures. To Robin's dismay, she was at Priam's mercy for a good twenty minutes because he was in charge of taking photos with her phone. He thought it would be oh-so-hilarious to constantly snap pictures whenever Robin wasn't ready. Priam sent all the awkward, blurry photos of Robin to Aversa. And Robin had to punch him in the gut before he surrendered her phone back.

Now, she was in the back of a cab, making her way over to the photo exhibition. Chrom had insisted that he pick her up, but she managed to persuade him out of it. Robin covered her mouth with her pink leather satchel as she yawned. Her feet were aching already in the silver heels that Aversa had instructed her to pair with the dress. She fought the urge to rub her eyes in case that it smudged her eyeliner and mascara. Her shoulders were knotted and no matter how she rotated them or stretched her neck, it didn't feel any better. She nodded off in the back seat until the cab arrived at the venue.

It was official. Thursdays were terrible for date night.

Robin paid and tipped the driver and got out of the taxi. She stepped onto the sidewalk and searched for her date. She heard her name being called and she spotted Chrom. A smile bloomed on her face as she walked over to him.

"Wow, Robin. You look amazing," said Chrom.

She blushed. With just a couple words, he made all her fatigue fade away and happy that she put in so much effort. "Thank you. You look great yourself." Chrom had opted for a business casual look. It was an attractive, crisp image, and a lot better than that gods awful uniform.

"Shall we?" He offered his arm out.

Robin nodded and gently placed a hand on his arm. "Yeah, let's go."

As they stood in line, Robin continued to fidget with her shoulders. "You okay?" asked Chrom.

"It's nothing. Just been in the OR all day. It'll be fine by tomorrow," she said. "Oh, Chrom. I hope you don't mind that my friend and her girlfriend will be with us. I know we're not really a thing yet and it's a double date, so I hope you're not uncomfortable with this."

"Not at all," said Chrom. "As long as you don't leave my side to fend for myself."

Robin giggled and gave his arm a squeeze. "Promise."

"And we could be a thing if you wanted," said Chrom as Robin handed over their tickets.

"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't hear what you said." Robin turned around with a questioning look.

"No, it's nothing." Chrom shook his head with a nervous laugh.

Once they were in, Robin texted Phila to let her know that they had arrived. She was nervous as to what Phila was going to say about her first impressions of Chrom, as well as meeting Phila's significant other. They heard an excited squeal followed by clicking heels. They both spun around to see a woman in a tight emerald dress running towards them. Her periwinkle hair bounced with every step.

"Phila!" Robin received Phila with a hug.

"Oh, you made it!" she said excited. She took a step back and scanned Robin's outfit. "And you look gorgeous. You rarely dress up."

"Thanks you too. You let you hair down!" said Robin.

"I know! So, you're Chrom." Phila beamed and offered her hand. "Robin has told me a lot about you."

He took her hand and shook it. "I hope mostly good things."

"Mostly." Phila smiled pleasantly. Then she gripped his hand tightly and said with a cheerful voice, "This is my bestie, so I swear to Naga if you hurt her, I'll hunt you down and grate your balls off with a cheese grater."

Robin brought up a hand against her forehead. "You promised," Robin said through a forced smile. Chrom shifted uncomfortably and took a slow step back.

"What? I have to let him know that I would kill for you," said Phila.

"I know, Phila, I appreciate that. You would be the first person I'd call if I needed to dispose of a body too, but we can't say things like this in front of the po-po, sorry, police," said Robin. "Damn it, Priam," Robin cursed under her breath.

Chrom cleared his throat as the two women squabbled. Robin glanced over at Chrom and smoothly changed the topic. "Anyway, where's Raimi?"

"She's talking to the photographer. Why don't you two love birds go and take a look around and meet us at the end of the exhibition? There's an after party that only a handful of the guests were invited to, including you two, so you can get to know her then," said Phila. She ushered them and gave them a little push before skipping off to elsewhere.

After she left, Robin turned to Chrom with an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry about that."

"Umm…q-quite the first impression," he said. "She's protective."

"Yeah…she means well," said Robin.

"I don't think I've ever had such a terrifying threat made to me before. I also know that if you ever murder someone, I'll know Phila is your accomplice," said Chrom.

Robin laughed uneasily at his joke. "Yeah…no. Don't worry, I won't be murdering anyone anytime soon. I guess since you know, I'll have to take you out first if that ever happens. So, umm…should we go take a look?" asked Robin. She pointed down the first part of the exhibition.

They strolled down the exhibition at a leisurely pace and looked at the photos. Some of them were black and white and some were in colour. Occasionally, Chrom would stop in front of a photograph and Robin would backtrack and wait for him. He would make a small comment and Robin would respond with her own. Often, their opinions clashed.

But they stopped at one large photograph together and they lingered. It was a photo of a vast field dotted with spring field flowers. The tall grasses swayed to one side, bowing down to the wind. The clouds in the sky were cotton white and the sun cast a soft glow onto the scene. The small rectangle below the picture had neat black text stamped onto it— _A New Beginning: A field at the Plegian-Ylissean border_.

Chrom's hand brushed Robin's fingers. She moved her hand closer to his. They sought each other's touch, and slowly, their fingers intertwined one by one. His hand felt warm against her cool hand. They stood in silence. Their form of communication: touch.

"I've never been there before, but it feels so nostalgic," Robin whispered, afraid that the sound of her voice would shatter the moment. "It feels like being found. You?"

"For me, curiosity and hope," he answered softly. Chrom glanced over at Robin. Then, he stepped in front of her brought up a hand to her face. "You're crying."

"Oh. How embarrassing." Robin let go of his hand and stepped back. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me." She sniffled and swiped her cheeks with the heel of her palm. "Oh no, did my makeup run?"

"No, you're good." He reassured her.

"Really?" she asked, leaning in to check if he was just being polite.

"Yes," he said, while brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

Her heart quickened at his touch and her cheeks felt warm, but she didn't look away. She couldn't. His eyes held her steadfast on the spot. They were so blue…

Suddenly, her phone rang in her bag, vibrating like it was throwing an angry tantrum.

"I should get that," she said breathlessly. She took a step back.

He watched her pull her phone out of her bag. She frowned at the screen and her eyes flickered over to Chrom. "I'm sorry, I need to take this." She walked away from the photograph around the corner to answer the phone.

"Hello?" she answered the phone.

"It's been a while, Robin," said a deep voice.

"Congratulations on another free and fair election." Her voice was anything but celebratory.

"That's no way to speak to your father," said Validar.

Robin chose to remain quiet, in case that she said something else to flame his temper.

"I'm coming to Ylisse this month on political business. I believe we are overdue for our yearly father-daughter dinner," he said.

"Yes, Father," she murmured.

"Priam said you were out when I called." Validar said the words like they tasted bad in his mouth. "He was rather vague with his answers. He simply said you were out when I asked what you were doing. Don't you have work tomorrow?"

"I am out. With friends. I don't know how you would interpret that as vague or peculiar," said Robin.

"I hope 'friends' doesn't entail sleeping around. You know how I feel about the Ylisseans."

Robin internally winced at the insensitive and harsh accusation. He never made it easy to listen to the comments he made about her personal life.

While the Ylisseans were more accepting of interracial relationships with the Plegians, the Plegians still frowned upon it. They believed that it was shameless to date or marry an Ylissean considering their shared history of wars. In fact, the war between Plegia and Ylisse that had occurred when her parents were young was the reason why Plegia had an awful economy for the longest time. The Plegian disdain for Ylisseans had been passed down the generations. But Robin knew better than to continue to fuel her hatred with the past. Her grandfather taught her better than that; it did nothing to fix the problems of Plegia.

Validar continued. "I gave you the freedom you wanted. The least you could do is not embarrass me in return."

He wanted her to say it, word for word. So, she did. "No, Father. I am not spreading my legs for every Ylissean man I happen to come across. And no one knows who I am here, so your reputation is safe. I am grateful that you have granted me this freedom. I'll ask Priam about the details of our dinner this month. Is there anything else you need from me?"

"No, that is all," he said and hung up.

Robin's hand dropped to her side with her hand gripping the phone tightly. She took a deep breath in and then let it out in a slow, measured manner. She tucked her phone back into her bag and straightened out her dress, and turned around the corner to go back to her date, an Ylissean her father would very much disapprove of.

Chrom was still standing in front of the photo they had shared an intimate moment just a couple minutes ago. She blushed as she remembered his touch and it replaced the sickening feeling that the call with her father had left behind.

"Sorry it took a while," she said, approaching his side.

"Don't worry about it," he said quietly, equally shy about their close encounter. "Should we check out the rest of the exhibition?" His kind, reassuring smile washed away any of the negative emotions that were swirling inside of her. She nodded.

As they continued their way through the exhibition, Chrom reached out for her hand and she accepted. Her heart went pit-a-pat as they held hands and when she glanced over at him, she swore his cheeks were rosier than usual.

* * *

Chrom and Robin finally got to meet Raimi at the after-party, which took place on the second floor of the venue. It reminded Chrom of an old attic, but classy. It was decorated with dainty little lights and there were comfortable seats placed around the periphery of the room. To the side was a bar that was set up for the occasion.

"Oh, I think I see her," said Robin. She tugged at his hand, asking him to follow her as they weaved through the sparse crowds.

Two young women were standing near the window sipping their drinks. One was dressed in an emerald dress and the other had opted for a black and white blouse with tapered black pants. Chrom recognized one as Phila, and the other woman, he assumed was Raimi. Raimi had short blonde hair with serious eyes and thin lips. She was tall. In fact, she was taller than both Robin and Phila and had a commanding presence.

"Ahh!" Robin clasped her hands together excitedly. "I finally get to meet you, Raimi!"

"You must be Robin." She smiled and offered out a hand. Robin shook it.

"Phila has not stopped talking about your arrival or about how amazing you are," said Robin.

"And now my baby's here," said Phila, kissing Raimi on the cheek.

"It's mutual. Phila mentioned you were her best friend," said Raimi.

Robin interlaced her fingers with Chrom again. Chrom noticed a grin spread on Phila's face. "Yup. Since second year in med school. And this is my date, Chrom."

"Nice to meet you," said Raimi and held her hand out for a handshake.

Chrom shook her hand and said, "Likewise."

"So, how was Chon'sin?" asked Robin.

"Busy because of work, but I did enjoy some of the festivals they have in May," said Raimi.

"What were you doing in Chon'sin?" asked Chrom.

"Taking photos. I'm a photojournalist." Raimi sipped her drink. "But as much as it's fun to travel the world, it's nice to be back."

"Robin, do you want anything to drink?" asked Chrom.

"No, I'm good. I'm pretty sure if I had anything to drink right now, I'd fall asleep," said Robin. "Do you want to grab anything to drink?"

"No, I drove here," he said. "I'd be setting a bad example if I was drunk driving."

"Was there any photos that captured your attention?" asked Raimi.

They both looked at each other and shared a small chuckle.

"Oh! I want to guess," said Phila. "Okay, for Robin. It was probably the wall with peeling paint."

"Hey! What's that supposed to me?" asked Robin.

"I'm kidding, Robin. I know it was the one with the woman in lingerie," said Phila, laughing at Robin. Chrom looked at Robin with a raised brow and then Phila. "Oh, Chrom doesn't know."

"Phila, I swear to the gods," said Robin.

Phila grinned sweetly, but there was something mischievous in her eyes.

"What?" said Chrom.

"Nothing. I don't remember what I was going to say. I lost my train of thought," said Phila. Somehow, Chrom found it difficult to believe her. She turned to him this time. "And for Chrom…don't think lowly of me for saying this. But was it the old man with the fly swatter?"

"No," he said slowly. "Wait, why that photo?"

Raimi chuckled as Phila harassed the poor couple in front of them.

"The old man looked pretty damned determined to catch the fly and it reminded me of you," said Phila.

Robin snorted beside him. "Phila, be nice. You already threatened him with the cheese grater. And Gold Digger wasn't very nice to him earlier this week either. Don't worry about Phila, Chrom. She's just being difficult. She's only difficult around people she likes."

"That, I can vouch for," said Raimi.

"Fine. For you, Robin, because I love you, I'll be nice," said Phila. "But I can't help that it's a lot of fun to tease him. And you."

"That aside, was there a photo that you two liked? The way you two looked at each other for a moment there indicated so," said Raimi.

"It was the large one. The picture of the field," said Chrom.

Robin added to what he said. "The Plegia-Ylisse border one."

After the pleasantries had been exchanged, Chrom and Robin went off on their own. They opted to sit down in the corner away from the crowd on an antique-style sofa. He noticed her constantly cranking her neck side-to-side and rolling her shoulders. He was all too familiar with the motions. He often found himself doing that whenever he had stayed up too late piecing a case together at headquarters.

"Robin, you seem really stiff," he commented. "Do you want a hand?"

"You asked me that already and I told you that it's fine," said Robin. "It's just from being hunched over in the OR."

"I know. You've mentioned that," he said.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm fine," said Robin. She turned her head to hide her yawn.

"I can help you with the knots," he said.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" she asked.

"Well, if I can be of some assistance, I would very much like to help," he said.

"Fine. Do you want me to just turn around?" she asked.

"Yeah, that works," he said.

She stood up and sat back down with her back turned to him. "Please be gentle."

"Yeah, of course," he said.

Her skin underneath the mesh of her dress looked so soft. Chrom brought up his hands slowly and placed them on her shoulders. Her shoulders were narrow and felt small in his large hands. His fingertips felt her collarbones under the fabric. She felt noticeably tense. He took his time drawing circles into her muscles with his thumbs. At regular intervals, he would give her shoulders a squeeze. As he massaged Robin, he noticed her starting to relax. Her head lulled to one side. He was glad he could help her feel better. Then, she moaned softly.

Chrom blushed at the sound and his ears burned. There was something tantalizing about her moan. He wanted to hear again. His eyes wandered to the nape of her neck. He wondered if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.

"Get a room, you two!" Phila popped out of nowhere.

The two jumped. Chrom immediately withdrew his hands away from Robin, red in the face. Robin turned her head around to face Phila, and slapped Chrom in the face with her ponytail. Chrom made a sound.

Phila giggled. "You smacked him in the face with your hair. And what are you thinking about, Officer?"

"Ah, sorry, Chrom," said Robin. She gathered her ponytail and pulled it over her shoulder.

"It's okay," he said. "N-Nothing," he told Phila.

"You two are adorable," said Phila. "I came over to ask if you guys wanted to join us for a bite?"

Robin faced Chrom. "I'm good. You?"

"I'm not hungry," he said. "I think I should take Robin home."

"Okay," said Phila. She winked. "Have a nice night you two."

"Phila, you're actually a dirty old man deep inside!" said Robin.

"So what if I am?" said Phila. "Anyway, gimme a hug and get going."

Robin stood up and gave Phila a hug. Phila whispered in Robin's ear, "Remember to use protection. And enjoy the pancakes for breakfast."

"Phila, I swear to the gods I will replace all your coffee with decaf," Robin whispered back.

They pulled back away from each other. "She's all yours," said Phila. "Night guys. It was lovely meeting you, Chrom."

"Tell Raimi the same for me too," said Robin.

"I will," said Phila. Then she left to go find Raimi again.

Chrom wrapped an arm around Robin's waist as they headed to the stairs. He saw Raimi and Phila getting ready to leave as well. Raimi had her eyes fixed on them. Her eyes were calculating and followed them on their way to the stairs. He smiled and gave a small wave. But she merely nodded in acknowledgement.

* * *

Robin shivered once they left the photo exhibition. She mentally kicked herself for bringing a jacket. How did that slip her mind? She felt goosebumps raise on her skin.

"Here, wear this," said Chrom. He put his jacket over her and it was still warm from his body.

"T-thanks," she said sheepishly.

"It's a bit of a walk to my car. I don't want you to catch a cold," said Chrom. He took her hand and led her down the sidewalk.

"Wait, what about you?" she asked.

"I get hot really easily. I was burning up in at the photo exhibition. And I'm wearing a long-sleeve shirt," said Chrom. "I'll be okay."

They spotted two police officers up ahead. Robin nervously gripped his hand tighter and fell back a step. She shifted her gaze away and stared off to the side.

"Chrom? Is that you?" asked a surprised voice.

Robin glanced up and saw one of the police officers walking towards them. He was dressed in a dark navy uniform. On the upper parts of his sleeves was the Ylisstol Police Force crest on it and on his left chest was a badge. At his hip, he had a gun.

"Mike? How long has it been?" exclaimed Chrom. He momentarily let go of Robin's hand to greet the stranger.

"I think since we graduated from the academy," said Mike.

"Wow, it's been that long?" asked Chrom. "How's everything?"

"Believe it or not, I settled down and there's a missus back home. She hates it when I'm on the night shift. And we have a new member of the family on the way," said Mike with a wide grin.

"Congrats, Mikey!" Chrom laughed. "Who knew you'd be the first to get married. You swore you'd never get settled down. Vaike is going to get a real good laugh about this. She must be quite the catch."

Mike leaned and said in a low voice. "Yeah…except she keeps me on a really short leash."

Chrom snorted. "Not surprising."

He tipped his hat back to look at Robin. "Who's this?" he asked. "I thought you and Sumia would've gotten back together by now."

Chrom put an arm around Robin and pulled her in close to the conversation. She tensed and gave a weak smile. "This is Robin. Sumia and I are just friends, Mikey."

"Nice to meet you. How did you meet this dork?" Mike chuckled and gestured to Chrom.

"He tried to give me a ticket the first time we met," said Robin quietly. She kept hearing about this Sumia girl. Something stirred in the pits of her guts.

Michael roared with laughter. "Sounds just like him." Robin returned his reaction with a nervous giggle that sounded more like she was choking.

"To be fair, you took off with my bike." Chrom nudged Robin and laughed.

"Yeah," she murmured. She wanted him to let her go so she could run. She didn't feel safe. She missed…Lon'qu. Maybe she'd call him once she got home.

"Robin, you look tired," said Chrom. "I should take her home. It was great seeing you, man."

"Yeah. I should probably get back to work," said Mike and they parted ways.

"I did not expect to run into him," said Chrom.

She forced a smile and squeezed his hand. "Old classmate?" asked Robin.

"Yeah, we were in the same class," he said. "That way. I parked over there. I parked on the street."

"Thanks for giving me a ride home," said Robin.

"Anytime," said Chrom. He unlocked the door with the remote attached to his keys. The navy car made a clicking sound, and Chrom opened the front passenger seat door for Robin. "After you."

"Thanks," said Robin. She hopped into the car and Chrom closed the door.

She watched Chrom walk around the front to the other side, but he stopped. Then he backtracked and stared at the slip tucked under his window wiper. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head as he snatched the paper. Chrom wore an expression of bewilderment as he got in the car.

She laughed at Chrom. "Is that a ticket, officer?" asked Robin with a teasing smile.

"I…I can't believe it. I've never gotten a ticket before," said Chrom in a tone of voice that suggested nothing short of hurt.

"It's okay. It happens to the best of us," said Robin. "Heck, I got my license suspended for apparently…" She air-quoted the words. "Reckless driving."

"No, Robin. I enforce the law. I can't get a ticket!" exclaimed Chrom.

"Take it easy, Chrom. It's just a ticket," said Robin.

"But I've never gotten a ticket before," said Chrom.

Robin shrugged. "There's a first for everything. It's not like you murdered someone."

Chrom sighed. "I checked the signs. I'm okay to park here. I went in circles so I could park in an area that wouldn't get me a ticket."

"Chrom, if it bothers you that much, I'll pay for your ticket," said Robin.

"No, that's not the issue." Chrom shook his head. He took his phone out of his pocket to turn it on silent before driving. But he paused and then tapped on his screen a couple times. He groaned.

"What is it?" asked Robin. Chrom ripped up the ticket. Robin chuckled. "I don't think you're allowed to do that."

"It was Vaike. He thought it's be hilarious to troll me," said Chrom. Robin couldn't tell if he was relieved or irritated. "Let's get you home."

"Okay," said Robin. "Bright side, you don't have a ticket."

Robin pulled out her phone and fiddled with it while Chrom drove. She texted Phila to see how everything was going on her end. They decided they'd meet up for coffee some time. Then she turned off her phone and tucked it into her bag.

"Since I chose what we did this time, do you have any suggestions for our next date?" asked Robin.

"I still can't believe you agreed to three," said Chrom with a chuckle. Robin laughed, her eyes crinkling. "What?"

"Nothing, you're just really awkward," said Robin.

"I don't think you're one to judge," said Chrom, laughing along with her.

"Okay, fine. Let's be awkward together," she said. "So any ideas?"

"Hmm…" Chrom hummed in thought, his lips pulled to one side and his brows lightly furrowed. "How about it be a surprise?"

"A surprise?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "Should I be nervous?"

"Nope," said Chrom with a grin.

"Some reason that makes me uneasy," said Robin.

"Don't worry about it. It'll be fine," said Chrom.

So…who's this Sumia?" asked Robin with caution.

"Sumia?" Chrom repeated. "A friend."

"Yeah? A friend? Not like an ex-girlfriend that you're not over?" asked Robin.

"What?" Chrom demanded. "No. I mean, yeah, we dated for a while, like a couple years, but we're just friends now."

"Yeah?" said Robin.

"It was years ago," said Chrom. "And now we're friends. Because we were friends before we dated."

"Cool," said Robin, nodding slowly.

"We're here," said Chrom, pulling up to the side of the building Robin lived in. Robin looked out the window and stared up at the condo building. "Oh, I bought a dog treat for Gold Digger," said Chrom.

She turned her head to face him. "Yeah? You might want to give that to him in person. He might warm up to your faster."

"Can I come up?" asked Chrom. Robin blinked at him. "Oh gods, no, not like that! I swear it's not what it seems. I meant come up to give Gold Digger the treat."

"Tonight's not a good time. He's probably asleep." Robin unclipped her seatbelt and slid it off her shoulders. Robin lined up the sleeves of the jacket and neatly folded it in her lap. Then, she handed the jacket back to Chrom. "Thank you. I'll try to remember to bring my own next time."

"No, it's okay," said Chrom.

The two sat in the car in pregnant silence. Robin adjusted the skirt of her dress and shouldered her bag. Robin bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to end the night.

"I'll walk you to the door?" said Chrom.

"Yeah," said Robin.

They both left his car and walked up to the front entrance. "I guess goodbye?" said Robin. She leaned in for a hug, while Chrom leaned in for something else. They paused, stepped back, and shared an awkward chuckle. They avoided eye contact and blushed.

"Good night, Chrom," said Robin as she took slow steps away from him.

"Good night," said Chrom, giving her a small wave.

* * *

To Robin's relief, Priam wasn't home when she arrived home. He was probably having an orgy with beautiful Ylissean women. She slipped off her heels and stepped onto the floor. She groaned. Her feet ached and throbbed. She picked up her heels to put them neatly back in her closet.

Gold Digger came out of his bed and looked at Robin. He cocked his head left and then right, questioning her she had been.

"Hey, Gold Digger. You silly pug." She bent down as pug walked up to her. She scratched his ear. "How was your day?" He made a weird sound, like he often did. "Yeah, my night ended a bit crappy too because I ran into the po-po." Gold Digger barked obnoxiously.

She stood back up and headed to her room. The pug followed after her into her room. Robin knew better than to chuck her stuff instead of organizing it, but she didn't care enough. She tossed her shoes into her walk-in closet. They bounced on the ground and ended up in opposite ends of the closet. Then she wigged around, trying to get a hold of the zipper. Once she managed to grab the small, tricky zipper, she shimmied the zipper down and stripped off the dress.

The pug avoided her as she undressed herself. She walked over to her bathroom and opened the drawer with stuff Aversa had sent her but never used. She reached in and grabbed makeup wipes. Washing her face involved too much work. She pulled out a couple sheets and walked out, scrubbing her face.

Gold Digger barked at her as she walked around in her underwear. "I know. I have nice lingerie. Keep your eyes to yourself," said Robin and then puckered her lips.

After she was done doing a half-assed job of cleaning the makeup off her face, she scooped Gold Digger up. He rested his little paws on her shoulder. She retrieved her phone from her bag and plopped herself down on the bed.

"Do you think I should call him?" Robin asked.

Gold Digger panted. Then he licked what it seemed like entire face. Then he made a sound at her.

"Is that a yes or a no?" she asked.

Gold Digger rested his head on her shoulder.

"What? You think it's a bad idea? It's not like Chrom and I are exclusive," said Robin. She heard him make a sigh. "Sometimes, I think you can understand me." Robin put him down and let him settle into her bed. Gold Digger walked in circles for a couple steps and then finally settled in. "Everyone keeps asking about his ex-girlfriend, Sumia, Gold Digger. And then we ran into the po-po today."

Gold Digger grunted.

"I saw her last time. I've never seen a drunk girl look so pretty before. Drunk girls are _not_ pretty, Gold Digger." Robin crossed her arms over her shirtless chest. "But she looked elegant, _barfing_. How do you do that?"

Robin stared down at her phone. She felt Lon'qu's absence more than ever now. Things were changing too fast. Some of the changes were nice, but some were difficult to handle. She wanted some constancy in her life. She glanced at the pug. Maybe if she stared at him long enough he'd give him an answer. He merely blinked at her.

"Okay, what? Judge me all you want. I trust Lon'qu," said Robin. "I'm calling him. Just to see what he's up to."

Robin heart pounded as she dialed his number and brought up the phone to ear. An automated voice told her she would be get extra charges. Then it rang.

"Hello?" A cheery, girly voice answered. She gasped. "Is this Robin?"

The voice sounded familiar. "Who is this?" she asked. Robin had expected Lon'qu's deep voice.

"It's me, Ke'ri!" She giggled into the phone. "Lon-lon's not here right now. He went to go see the doctors."

"Oh. How are you doing, Ke'ri?" asked Robin.

"Mmm…as good as I can be," she said. "Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For all the awesome gifts you sent with Lon-lon! It was the best thing ever."

Robin chuckled. "I'm glad you liked them."

"Liked them? I loved them!" she shouted. "You're the best!"

Robin chuckled. "Let me know if there's anything you need. I can send you more stuff."

"Hmm…don't know if Lon-lon would be okay with that," said Ke'ri.

"Nah, it'll just between us two. A secret," said Robin.

"Can I ask a question?" asked Ke'ri.

"Yeah, go ahead," said Robin.

"So, how close are you and Lon-lon?" she asked.

"I've known for him quite a few years, I guess," she said.

"Are you guys friends?" asked Ke'ri. "He said you two were work acquaintances."

Robin didn't know how she could explain their relationship. "We've known each other for quite a few years now. I guess you could say we're friends." She laughed softly into the cell phone.

"Ke'ri, what are you doing?" demanded a voice. There were some excuses thrown and shuffling, which Robin assumed was Lon'qu trying to grab the phone back. Finally, Lon'qu answered, "Hello?"

"H-Hey," said Robin. She cleared her throat. "Hey, Lon-lon. I mean, Lon'qu."

"Hello," he said.

"How're you?" asked Robin. Guilt settled in her gut as she remembered her last couple conversations with Lon'qu.

"Good, you? Did you need something?" he asked.

"That's good. No, I just wanted to see how you were doing," murmured Robin.

"Is everything okay on your end?" he asked.

She nodded and said, "Everything's fine." It was so nice to hear his deep voice again. She missed his presence in her life. "Priam is good too."

"Why did you call?" he asked.

"I missed you," said Robin. She winced at what she had blurted out and tried to recover quickly. "I mean we did spend a lot of time together. So it's just weird you're gone."

"I see," he said.

"Oh, no!" said Robin stiffly and stared at the pug. "Gold Digger is getting into the…cereal bowl again! I have to go, Lon'qu. Talk to you later."

Robin quickly hung up before he could say anything. She held her phone against her chest. Thank goodness she prevented that from getting more awkward than it was necessary.

"Don't give me that judgmental look," Robin snapped at Gold Digger.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Thank you for reading another chapter! Please let me know what you thought. :) It's always encouraging to hear for the readers.

Also, thank you to lacexkyoko for fanart of Ke'ri! It looks adorable. :) I had a different character design in my head originally, but after I saw this, this is how I imagine Ke'ri to look like.  
post/130705806114/i-drew-a-fanart-of-one-of-my-favorite-fics

P.S. To all guest reviewers! Thank you! I wish I could respond to your reviews, because I usually respond to all reviews, but can't because you guys don't have a account. I appreciate them a lot. :) I'd love to hear from you again!


	19. By My Side (Part 1): Manners and Figs

**Author's Notes:** **PLEASE READ THIS!** This chapter is graphic. If abortions, violence, or rape are triggers for you, I'd suggest you not read this chapter. The last thing I want to do is cause someone to have a breakdown because I didn't put a proper warning before the start of this chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 19  
** **By My Side (Part 1): Manners and Figs**

When Lon'qu opened the door, his eyes fell on the silver bow with gold trimming neatly holding dark hair in place. It chilled him to the bone. It reminded him too much of the past.

"Lon-lon?" Ke'ri turned her head, hiding the hairclip from his view. "Did you bring me more food?" She folded the papers in her hands following its original creases and slid them into the envelope.

"Yeah. I made you some rice balls and cut up some fruit," said Lon'qu, closing the door behind him.

Ke'ri tucked the letter back under her pillow. "I forgot I left the letter here last time. She wrote _a lot_. Is she a chatty person?"

"No, not particularly." He put the packed food onto the bedside table and pushed it over to Ke'ri.

"Will I ever get to meet her?" asked Ke'ri.

"No," said Lon'qu. He preferred to keep it that way.

"Awww, why not?" asked Ke'ri with a pout.

"Because Ke'ri, there is no need to meet her in person," he said.

"Well, there is, if she's my future sister-in-law," said Ke'ri, opening the lids of the containers of food.

Lon'qu sighed and rubbed his temples. "Ke'ri, you do understand that's not how marriage works, right?"

"It's when two people decide to spend the rest of their lives together," said Ke'ri with a nonchalant shrug. "And become a family."

"Yes, but it's usually between two people who…" Lon'qu blushed and brought up a shy hand to his face.

"Love each other?" Ke'ri finished his sentence for him. She stared at him with a burning curiosity. " _Do_ you like Robin? Because I like her, even more now that I'm reading her letter and I'm only on the first page."

"Ke'ri, eat your food," said Lon'qu.

"And I don't see why she wouldn't at the very least like you, Lon-lon," said Ke'ri. "And love that takes a while to grow is the one that lasts longer than an infatuation that dies out. Or that's what the books I read say."

Lon'qu frowned at Ke'ri. "What kind of books are you reading, Ke'ri?"

"Look, Lon-lon! Isn't my hair clip pretty?" She turned her head.

"Yes, it's nice, Ke'ri."

* * *

"Don't fuck this up," said Priam with an underlying threat in his voice. "He insisted on someone with a clean criminal record who wasn't publicly recognizable. You fit the criteria, and you know hand-to-hand combat. That was a bonus for him. He expects nothing short of perfection and excellence."

Lon'qu nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Don't do that," snapped Priam. "No quick movements. She's jumpy. And no physical contact."

"Is there anything else I need to know?" asked Lon'qu. He could finally think straight now that he wasn't out in the blazing hot heat of the Plegian summer.

Priam's face darkened. "And remember, you say any word about this, your life is on the line. You're disposable to us. But other than that, that's all." Priam waved his hand like he was waving away the tension. "Why don't we go inside and say hello?"

Priam knocked on the right door of the double doors and a voice answered on the other side, "Come in!" He grasped the door handle, turned it, and pushed in. Lon'qu grabbed the small suitcase and wheeled it in behind Priam.

"Robin, I don't know why you did this to your hair. If you wanted to cut it, you should've let me bring in my hairdresser," said a tall young woman with beautiful sun-kissed skin and long moonlight hair that was probably the envy of many Plegian women. She was lean with desirable curves clad in fashionable clothes that the average person didn't wear.

Lon'qu recognized her immediately. It was Aversa Grima, Plegia's top, most beloved model. She was fussing over someone with choppy, uneven hair who was seated in a chair with its back turned to everyone. Aversa turned around and smiled at Priam and him. "Hey, Priam."

"Aversa, I didn't know you were going to be here," said Priam. "Don't you have a show in Rosanne this week?"

"I told them I couldn't go. Family emergency," said Aversa. "Is this the new guy?"

"Yeah, this is Lon'qu," said Priam.

"Nice to meet you." Lon'qu offered a hand.

Aversa wore a polite smile and shook it. "Likewise."

"You look displeased," said Priam.

"Oh, me? No...okay, a little." Aversa glanced over at the girl seated in the chair staring out the window.

"You don't think the room is good enough? They gave her the luxury suite," said Priam.

"No, the hospital room is fine. She managed to get her hands on a pair of scissors." Aversa tapped her plump lips. Priam looked to Robin and roared with laughter, which earned him a well-deserved glare from Aversa. It didn't stop him from laughing.

"That's why you look different today. How did you do it, Robin?" Priam walked over to beside the girl. "Oh, by the way, Lon'qu, this is Robin." Priam pointed his finger down above her head. "Didn't the nurses freak out when they found out you stole scissors?"

"Why do you care?" she said in a quiet voice. "And they did freak out once they found out. They freaked out enough to sedate me last night."

Aversa gave a miserable hum as she gingerly picked at Robin's uneven locks. "Robin, sweetie. Was this necessary?"

"Yes. I feel safer," she murmured. Robin grew smaller and she hugged herself. "Now it's harder to grab me."

An eerie silence loomed in the room. Even Priam didn't utter a word.

Aversa clasped her hands together and broke the uncomfortable spell that Robin had cast. "Well, I bought you a pretty hairclip from my last job. I had some time to shop," said Aversa. She dug through her bag and pulled something out. She went behind Robin and gathered some of her hair and clipped something in. "Isn't the hairclip pretty?" Aversa asked Lon'qu over her shoulder.

He stared at the silver bow with gold trimming. It clashed against her dark hair. He wasn't sure if it looked melancholic because of the gravity of the room or that he wasn't invested enough in this girl's well-being to care.

"Yes, it's nice," he said. That seemed like the best answer.

"Brat, introduce yourself to your new bodyguard," said Priam.

"Tell him to go away," said Robin. "I don't need one."

"Well, you obviously do after the stunt you pulled last night without Priam to keep an eye on you," huffed Aversa.

"Come on, say hello," said Priam. He grabbed the chair and it scraped against the floor in protest as he turned it around.

In the seat was a thin, frail looking girl. She glowered at him like a cornered, wounded animal. Her face was sunken in and the hospital gown looked like a tent on her small frame. There were evident dark circles smeared underneath her eyes. She put a Chon'sin panda to shame.

She spoke first and it was with absolute disgust. "It's a man." Her eyes flicked up and down Lon'qu, making him narrow his eyes under her intense gaze.

"Don't be sexist, little Grima. I'm a man and you're fine with me," said Priam.

"No, you're an animal with the insufferable ability to speak," said Robin coldly. She still had her eyes fixed on Lon'qu. "I told you I'm fine."

"Robin, we're worried about you. You're really not fine," said Aversa.

"I just want to be left alone," she whispered. Then, she snapped her head to Priam and stated bitterly, "And he's of Chon'sin descent. Is this your version of a sick prank?"

"Don't be racist, brat," said Priam. "You'll hurt his feelings."

"I don't care. Make him leave," hissed Robin. She clutched the fabric in front of her stomach.

"Nope," said Priam, crossing his arms. "No can do."

"Robin, it'll be okay," said Aversa.

"No, it won't." Robin shook her head. "Don't say that. Please, I'm begging you. Stop saying that to me, Avie."

"Hey. Hey," said Aversa. She placed a hand on Robin's shoulder and she flinched the moment her hand touched her. Aversa immediately withdrew her hand. "I'm sorry."

"Can you all please go?" asked Robin. She hugged her legs against her chest.

"Okay, I'll come visit tomorrow?" Aversa asked in a soft voice.

"No. Just leave me alone, please," said Robin.

"Okay..." Aversa forced a smile at Robin and headed for the door. "Come along, Priam. She wants to rest."

"That's one way to sugarcoat her shitty attitude," Priam gruffed.

"Be nice to my baby sister," Aversa snapped and punched him in the arm.

If Robin was Aversa's sister that meant…she was the second daughter of the president of Plegia. He didn't know he had a second daughter. Aversa was famous, but Robin didn't exist as far as the public knew. The two sisters didn't look related. Was she an illegitimate child?

"That didn't hurt," sung Priam. This time, Aversa pinched his arm and twisted. "Ow, ow, ow! Okay! Okay! I got your point!" Aversa released his arm.

"Oh, Robin. Your...procedure is later tonight. Priam will come by. Do you want me to come with?" asked Aversa.

"No," said Robin.

"Oh, okay," said Aversa. "We'll head out then."

Priam walked over to Lon'qu and put a firm hand on his shoulder. "If she starts swearing or screaming at you, that's just how she expresses her love."

"No, she only does that to you, Priam," said Aversa, while rolling her eyes. "She means well, Lon'qu. Please take care of my little sister for me. Okay, Robin. We're leaving. Be nice to the new guy."

Robin remained quiet and continued to give Lon'qu a stony look. He assumed that this job was going to be easier than what the Syndicate had previously assigned him, but maybe that wouldn't be the case. The way she stared at him was...off-putting. He felt like he was committing a crime just standing there.

He had no idea why the second daughter of Validar Grima was locked away in a hospital several hours away from the capital. There was nothing on the news about her. She was invisible.

"Leave," she said.

"I'm sorry, Miss Grima. I cannot fulfill that request," he said.

"Get out," she said.

"I'm sorry, Miss Grima. I cannot fulfill that request," he said.

"I said get out!" she screamed.

This was going to be long day.

* * *

Aversa slipped her large sunglasses on and put on her dark wide-brim hat. Then, she headed for the elevators. Priam followed behind her.

"Do you want to grab lunch before you head back?" asked Priam.

"Why not," said Aversa with a small shrug.

Priam pressed the down button on the elevator and they waited.

"I hope she'll be okay," said Aversa.

"She's tough. She'll get through this," said Priam. "I know her. But it may take some time. You're going to have to be patient."

Aversa sighed and glanced at her watch. "I hope you're right. I think I should visit my grandfather before I head back. He's probably wondering how Robin's doing."

"I already talked to him," said Priam.

Aversa lifted her head and stared at Priam. The elevator pinged and the doors opened to an empty elevator.

"Ladies first." Priam gestured with a small nod of his head.

Aversa didn't say anything and stepped in. He walked in after Aversa and watched her press the button for the ground floor. Priam closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the elevator. He put his hands in his pockets and felt his lighter in his right pocket.

Gods, he was itching for a smoke after seeing Robin's state. But he knew it was wrong to do so in the hospital; he would have to wait until he's in the parking lot. He gripped his lighter in his hand. The metal casing was warm from his body heat.

" _What took you so long?" she whispered and crumbled in his arms._

"Fuck me." He withdrew his hand from the pocket and slammed it against the elevator door.

"Oh, Priam. I know you want me, but I'd never sleep with you," said Aversa. She laughed lightly and her jest drew him out of his state. "You're not my type."

Priam chuckled beside Aversa and smirked. "Likewise. Sleeping with you would be like sleeping with a cousin."

"Now, there's the Priam I know." Aversa brushed out her hair with her fingers. "You did everything you could."

* * *

For the rest of the day, Robin used her scrawny arms to turn the chair back to its original position and continued to stare out of the window. Lon'qu retreated to side section attached to the main luxury patient suite to unpack his suitcase. The room was far too extravagant for his tastes and it was over the top. They could probably fit at least six beds into the suite for additional patients—patients that needed the beds. But that wasn't his place to say. All he had to do was babysit the girl and then he could go back to his mission of infiltrating the Grima Syndicate: his main objective.

One thing that he did enjoy was the air conditioning. He thought after being in Plegia for two years would've gotten him adjusted to the bloody hot summers, but it hadn't. It also didn't help he was always dressed formerly. Even with the thinner seasonal material, it didn't help keep him cool. He missed the frigid winters of Regna Ferox.

During the evening, Priam returned for Robin and wheeled her out of the hospital room. Lon'qu took the opportunity to examine the room and to unpack. There was a large bed in the center of the room with fancy patterned bed sheets. They were purple with gold patterns stamped onto it, the two colours Plegians favoured so much. There was a small sofa to the side with a flatscreen television and a coffee table. It was most likely for guests. Against the far wall was a bookshelf that was empty except for one full shelf. Some of the books had worn spines and some of them were brand new. They were all different heights and shoved into the shelf without any attempt to organize by title or author. Lon'qu continued his tour to the washroom. There was a gigantic bathtub, a sink, and a toilet.

This girl seemed like a spoiled brat. On top of that, she was terribly rude to her older sister and him. He hoped he had the patience to get through this.

Lon'qu ended up settling on the sofa with one of the books from the shelf to pass the time for Robin's return. When she came back from her procedure with Priam, she looked more exhausted than before; Lon'qu didn't think it was possible, but she proved him wrong. She made a rag doll look stiffer in comparison as she sat in the wheelchair.

Priam pushed Robin past Lon'qu straight to the bed. He threw off the covers and turned to Robin, but she held up a hand. He paused. She pushed herself up to her feet but struggled the entire way. Then, she fell to the ground.

"Robin, don't be stubborn," said Priam with a frustrated sigh.

"Don't touch me. I can do it," she hissed. Priam ignored her and picked her up. "Fuck you. Put me down." He placed her gently on the bed and then threw the covers over her.

"Done. Good night, brat," said Priam. He wheeled the chair away from the bed set it beside the sofa. "Good luck," he said to Lon'qu. "I'm heading back to the capital. I'll leave the car here." Priam threw the key to Lon'qu, who effortlessly caught it with one hand. Priam furrowed his brows for a moment. "Actually, a word." He pointed at the entrance.

Lon'qu stood up from his seat and followed Priam out of the hospital room. Lon'qu closed the door behind him and waited for Priam to speak.

"If there's anything you think you can't handle or of importance, give me a call," said Priam. A crinkle between Lon'qu's brows appeared. "You're probably curious, aren't you?" Priam scratched the back of his head. "They weren't kidding when they said you asked no questions. You really don't ask any questions."

"It's none of my business," said Lon'qu. All he did was maintain a distance and avoid physical contact, which he was more than happy to do. This was a far better job than working at the underground gambling houses or worse, the strip clubs.

"She's stressed out from school and it led to other health problems," said Priam. "That's all you need to know."

"Okay," said Lon'qu.

Priam yawned. "I'm out. Bye."

Lon'qu watched Priam's figure grow smaller as he headed down the hallway to the elevator. Once he was far enough, he stepped back into the room. He half-expected the girl to insult him or spit harsh words at him, but she didn't.

She had her back turned to him in the bed. Lon'qu grabbed the book as he headed to his section of the suite. He sat down on his cot and listened to the silence of the room-it was eerie and unnerving.

Then, he heard a sniffle. There were a couple more. He froze. Did he go and talk to her? Did he check in on her? What was he supposed to do? Her sniffles became muffled sobs, causing him more distress. Perhaps she didn't want him to know that she was crying. The exotic dancers at the clubs he had to check in on usually didn't want to be seen when they were crying. He decided to remain as still as possible until she fell asleep.

* * *

Lon'qu woke up with a crick in his neck and stiff shoulders. Robin didn't end up falling asleep until a good hour later: Lon'qu pretended to be a statue for an hour, listening to her cry. He rolled shoulders and then his head. It didn't help.

Without making a sound, he headed to the washroom to wash up. His eyes wandered over to Robin's bed. She was curled up on her side in the fetal position. She hadn't moved from the night before, and was still fast asleep. Lon'qu had a feeling she'd be bedridden for a while. He continued his way to the washroom and closed the door behind him.

This job was a waste of time. Sure, doing the dirty work for the Grima Syndicate to earn their trust did rub his morals the wrong way, but at least he was making progress. Being here, babysitting a spoiled brat, was setting him back more. He still hadn't updated Basilio on the changes. He wondered what he'd say on the matter.

When Lon'qu came out of the washroom, he saw that Robin was still fast asleep. Her choppy dark hair peeked out from the blanket. He walked over to the bookshelf to grab the book he started the night before. He would've much preferred to go for a run, but he was trapped in the room as much as she was. He pulled the book out from its place, made his way over to the sofa, and settled in.

An hour went by, and a nurse came in with a cart. Robin had yet to move. The nurse greeted Lon'qu with a curious expression and continued on her way to the bed. "That's strange, she's usually awake by now," she said out loud. She place a hand on Robin and shook her awake. "Miss Grima, it's time to get up," she said softly. Lon'qu went back to reading the book. "Miss Grima?"

Robin cried out and slapped away the nurse's hand. Lon'qu's eyes flicked up from the book to the bed. She was struggling to get away from the nurse from underneath the heavy blanket. The nurse looked surprised and took a step away from Robin, who was mumbling something under her breath.

"I'm sorry," said the nurse.

Why was she apologizing for? The girl was the one being rude in this situation.

"Please don't do that," she said loud enough for Lon'qu to hear her. There was a quiver in her voice.

"It's breakfast time," said the nurse.

"I'm not hungry," she said.

"You have to eat to get better," said the nurse.

Robin narrowed her eyes and turned her back to the nurse and pulled the covers over her head. The nurse sighed and looked over at Lon'qu. She walked over towards him.

"I'll leave her breakfast here. They also told me to make sure you got your meals as well. I'd appreciate it if you could get her to eat a little," said the nurse. "I'd stay a bit, but there are other patients I have to get to."

Lon'qu nodded. The girl would probably eat once she was starved enough.

"I'll come by later to check in," said the nurse. "Have a nice day."

"You too," he gruffed.

The nurse left two trays of food behind and left. Robin poked her head out from under the covers and glared at Lon'qu. They were back to where they were yesterday.

"You can't force me to eat," said Robin in a hoarse voice.

Lon'qu wanted to give her a lecture on basic etiquette, but held his tongue. It wasn't his place. And he most definitely wasn't going to try to force spoon-feed her either. He calmly said, "I'm not going to. If you want to eat, come and eat. If you don't want to eat, then don't."

"Oh," she murmured. "Okay."

The nurse came back as promised and tried to take Robin's vitals, but she made it a difficult process the entire time. It was as if she didn't want to get better. The nurse also came back to drop off lunch and dinner, and Robin didn't touch any of her food. The nurse gave Lon'qu a displeased look each time she collected one empty tray and one full tray each meal. He was here to protect her from outsiders, not be her caretaker.

Besides, Robin spent most of her time sleeping the entire day anyway. She made it clear in the morning she didn't like being woken up. When she wasn't sleeping, she was scowling at Lon'qu or making a snail-paced treks to the washroom.

It wasn't until nightfall when she slipped out of bed and made a beeline to the fridge. Lon'qu temporarily put his book down to see what she was doing. She was wearing a patient gown that was smaller this time, but the fabric still drowned her. Robin crouched down and fumbled around a bit and then stood up again. She closed the fridge door and made her way over to Lon'qu. Using the coffee table for support, she took her time lowering herself onto the ground and sat down.

Robin eyed him without an ounce of emotion on her face. He couldn't read her. His training back in Regna Ferox was useless against this girl. It bothered him a lot. Empty. That's all he could surmise from her.

The girl lifted her arm and placed two violet teardrop-shaped fruits on the table top. It was like she was making a peace offering. But when she opened her mouth, he realized it was far from that.

"Do you have a knife?" she asked.

"Why?" he asked.

"To cut the figs, genius," she said.

Lon'qu stared at her for a moment. Was it safe to give her a knife? Was this all an act and she was going to try to kill him before escaping from the hospital? Not that she could kill him or manage to get a single nick on him.

Robin sighed. "They won't let me near sharp objects. I don't know why…"

Her short choppy hair was a pretty goody indication of why. She looked like a child raised by the wild. She stared at him with an apathetic gaze. On her left cheek was a small cut that was healing poorly.

"If I make you that uncomfortable, you can cut the figs." Robin slouched over and leaned on the coffee table.

Everything she did made him feel tired just watching her. "Why not just eat it whole?" he asked.

"Because I like to eat them in halves or quarters," she said, her face crumpling like a petulant child.

Lon'qu did have a pocket knife on him. He reached into the hidden pocket in his suit jacket and pulled out the knife.

"You don't have to dress like that while you're here," said the girl.

Lon'qu reached over for a fig and she leaned away from the table. He grabbed the fig and sliced it half with his knife and offered it to her.

"Cut it again," she said.

He withdrew his hand and sliced the half in half. The two quarters with their pulpy, pink insides sat on his open palm. Robin hesitantly picked one off his hand and took a small nibble. Lon'qu pulled out a tissue from the tissue box on the table and placed the other quarter of the fig on top. He proceeded to slice up the rest of the fruit.

Lon'qu watched her chew at an excruciatingly slow pace. She had yet to utter a word of gratitude. She was back to ignoring him.

Then, she spoke again. "Try one. They're in season." It wasn't even a question or an offer; it was an order.

"I'm fine," said Lon'qu.

"I brought two for a reason," she said. Robin winced and clutched her stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a laboured breath.

Lon'qu felt obligated to ask if she was okay. "Are you okay?"

Robin didn't answer him and stood up again. She made her journey back to her bed again. She settled herself back into the bed with her back turned to him and they didn't exchange another word for the rest of the night.

To Lon'qu's pleasant surprise, his first time trying figs wasn't half bad.

* * *

Her blood felt like it was boiling and cramps convulsed throughout the lower end of the stomach. She curled up on her side and swallowed back a whimper. Her hand grabbed a fistful of the shirt's fabric. She felt herself slipping away. Her eyes weighed down and pulled her into slumber again.

" _Tell me, princess." The burn scar on the side of the man's face twisted his fake smile into something much more sinister. His dark eyes flashed something that made Robin shudder: he was genuinely enjoying this. "Come on," he said. He traced the back of his hand down her face. It felt revolting._

" _Go to hell," she hissed, pulling away for him._

 _Her head snapped to the side, disorienting her and making her head spin. Her cheek stung, but she bit down on her lip. No one had ever hit her before. But she wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to be weak. That's not what a Grima did. She needed to hold out._

" _Tell me!" he yelled._

 _He grabbed her ponytail and yanked her head back, making her meet his maniac eyes. Robin pressed her lips tightly closed and glared at him. He clicked his tongue, and then grinned. "I always do enjoy myself a challenge." Robin hoped that her trembling hands could be concealed with her tight fists. "It's more fun that way."_

 _She refused to blink and continued to maintain her stare. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her. Time crawled by painfully and her eyes begged her to blink, but she refused._

 _He sighed and shoved her aside. As he walked away, he said, "I have all the time in the world, princess. All the time in the world."_

Robin's eyes snapped open. She pressed a hand against her cheek. Where was she? What was going on? She hissed in pain as another wave of agony washed over her lower stomach. Her head spun and she was so tired. So tired…

 _A violent force shook her awake. She just wanted to rest. This had been going on for days, but she wasn't sure how long exactly. She had lost count of the days. But it had gotten worse ever since she took an oath of silence. They had begun to deprive her of sleep. That's all she could deduce._

 _It was him again._

 _She could never forget that hideous scar on the side of his face._

" _Wakey, wakey, princess." He yanked her up by the shirt. She sat there, her eyes threatening to close again. He tapped her on the cheek a couple times. "Hey. Hey. We're just getting started. It took a while to get you up this time."_

 _Tears escaped her eyes. She wasn't sure how much more she could handle. It had been so long since she had last slept. She shook her head._

" _That's not the answer I want. Tell me what you know about the Grima Syndicate," he said._

 _Again, Robin shook her bowed head. The tears fell onto her lap. She was exhausted and couldn't even think straight._

 _He placed a hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him. "You'll get to sleep right after. Until then, we're going to keep going," he said._

 _A cry escaped Robin's lips. She wanted to sleep. She weakly slapped away his hand._

" _I want the locations of Oasys production!" he hollered into her ear with seething anger. "I'm losing patience with you, useless bitch!"_

 _She winced at the volume and moved her ear away. Her eyes threatened to close again. She saw the man move his arm. He was probably going to strike her again._

" _Arsen!" yelled an authoritative voice. "Don't you lay a hand on the girl. Leave."_

 _The man with the scar growled, but stood up. "You're lucky Wei'fang stopped me."_

 _She fell over but the man named Wei'fang caught her before she hit the ground. Then, he softly laid her head down on the ground. The last thing Robin saw was a glimpse of silver hair._

Robin woke up again drenched in her sweat. She was parched and couldn't form words because her throat was closed up. She wished that everything would stop hurting. She wanted to sleep, but she couldn't get any rest. Something kept haunting and tormenting her. She closed her eyes again. The lights were making her head hurt more.

 _Someone was shaking her awake again. Her eyes cracked open again._

" _Just let me sleep," she begged. "Please, just stop." She was going to go crazy if this continued. "I just want to sleep."_

" _Okay, how about this. We make a deal," said Arsen. Robin's head bobbed as sleep dragged her away from reality. "You tell me what I want to know and I'll tell you the information you came here for."_

 _Robin picked her head up and blinked slowly at him._

" _Don't you want to know what happened to your dear mother?" he asked. "Who killed her?"_

 _Her cracked lips parted to speak, but then she closed it. She couldn't trust him. But what if he knew…where was she again? Why was the ground so cold?_

" _I'll let you go home after." He caressed her cheek._

 _Where was home? Wait, the only reason she was alive was because she hadn't told them anything._

" _You know, Daddy wants his princess back home in his castle," said Arsen. His rough, callous hand trailed down her neck and then to the neckline of her shirt. He wrapped his hands around her neck and pulled her in. He inhaled, causing Robin to whimper and try to push away, but she was far too weak. "He has all his black knights looking for you," he said against her ear, "while they're trying to strike a deal with the Triad."_

" _Don't touch me!" Robin struggled against him. He tightened his hand, choking her. Her hands clawed at his arm._

" _But the public doesn't know a thing," he said. Her lungs screamed for air and her face grew darker shades of red by the second. He finally let go when she was at the verge of passing out. Robin crumpled to the ground and gasped for air._

 _Arsen crouched down beside Robin and ran his hand through her ponytail. "You're the most difficult bitch I've ever had to crack. In the meantime, why don't we have some fun then, princess?" He rolled her onto her back._

 _Robin flinched at the touch of his hand trailing up her leg. "No, stop!" Robin screamed. She tried escape him but her body wouldn't listen to her. After days of sleep deprivation and not being fed properly, there was no more fight left in her. The only thing she had had was her will and even that was at its breaking point._

" _You wanna talk now? Just when I'm getting started?" he asked. Arsen spread Robin's legs apart and settled in between her legs, her skirt hiked up higher._

" _I don't know anything!" She exploded into terrified tears._

" _Sure, you don't," he said. "That's what they all say." His gross hands tugged down her panties._

" _Please, I'm begging you!" she screamed. "I don't know anything!"_

" _Don't worry, princess." His hands gripped her inner thigh. "You'll enjoy it." He pinched her soft flesh, causing her to squirm in pain. He smirked._

" _Please. I don't know anything!" Robin's head throbbed. She had no idea what to do._

 _He pressed a cold metal blade against her cheek. "It'd be a shame to scar such a cute face." He moved it under her eye. "Or blind you in one eye."_

 _Robin wrapped her hands around his wrist. "Please, don't do this. I don't know anything. I know nothing."_

" _You're lying. I'm not stupid," said Arsen._

 _Her lip quivered. "No. No. I don't know anything. Please."_

 _Arsen sighed and withdrew the hand blade, giving Robin false hope. He quickly undid his pants and pulled down his boxers. Robin averted her eyes. The moment she mustered her last ounces of strength to get up and escape, he slammed her back down on the hard ground with his hand on her neck. Her head spun on the impact and she saw stars._

 _She felt something hard against her thigh. "I don't know anything! I'm begging you!"_

" _I'll make you feel good." He had the look of a hunter that was going in for the kill of his prey._

Robin woke with a gasp, her face stained with tears. Her tried to bolt up, but she was still too weak and in agonizing pain. By some miracle, she managed to escape her damp, heavy bed sheets. She hugged her stomach with one arm and made her way to the washroom with her body hunched over in torment. Once she made it the washroom, she locked the door behind her.

* * *

Lon'qu checked his watch every so often. It had been a while since Robin had gone into the washroom. He noticed she had difficulty sleeping, and her condition in the last couple days seemed to have worsened. If it was serious, the nurse that came by would've said something, right? Then, again Robin was usually discourteous. Maybe the nurse was getting revenge. No. That wasn't professional.

 _Thud._

His eyes immediately flew to the washroom door. Something wasn't right. He stood up and walked over to the door. He knocked on the door. "Miss Grima? Is everything alright?" He half-expected her to snap at him, but his questions were answered with a silence. He knocked again. "Miss Grima, answer me."

Nothing.

Lon'qu went to his bag to grab something to pick the lock. He returned with a pick and tension wrench. He crouched down in front of the lock and went to work. After fiddling around for a while, he unlocked the door. He pocketed his tools and put his hand on the door knob.

"Miss Grima, I'm coming in if you don't answer me. Now," he said. Her response was silence. He opened the door.

Robin was sitting against the wall on the floor. There were crimson smears painting the tiles like watercolour paint. The red pooled in the grooved lines of the tiled canvas. She was shaking and covered in her own blood.

"I c-can't stop the bleeding." She breathed in shaky breaths. "It w-won't s-stop." She was sweating profusely.

Lon'qu rushed in and squatted down beside Robin. He pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. She withdrew from his cold touch. She had a dangerously high fever. He turned his head to see that her hospital gown was hiked up. Robin tried to pull the hem down. He blushed and turned away his eyes. But it was too late. He saw a glimpse of the dark, ugly bruises marring her skin.

"I'll get help," he said and ran out of the washroom. "I need a doctor!"

* * *

Robin stirred in her sleep and woke up. She blinked at the white ceiling. Then she turned her head to the side to take in her surroundings. She saw the new guy, nodding off on the couch. When she tried to move, she felt an uncomfortable throb in her arm. She lifted it up and saw that there was an IV drip needle taped down.

"How're you feeling?"

Robin turned her attention to the new guy and stared at him. She still felt light-headed and had no idea what had happened after she passed out on the washroom floor.

"What?" she croaked. What did he say? Where was she again?

"Are you feeling better, Miss Grima?" Lon'qu asked while covering a yawn with the back of his hand. She noted the smears of red on his white sleeves.

Something to do with blood. She returned to staring at the ceiling, not answering his pleasantry. Some glow-in-the-dark stars would be a nice touch on the ceiling. Maybe that would make her nights more bearable, since going outside wasn't much of an option and she didn't trust the new guy. But who could she ask since she had no access to a phone?

"Hey." Her throat was dry and raspy. Her body was in a dire need of a glass of water.

He got up from his seat and searched around for something. "Water, Miss Grima?" Robin gave a small nod. Lon'qu opened the fridge and grabbed a plastic water bottle. He cracked the lid open with a twist and poured the contents into a plastic cup. He crossed to the other side of the room with the plastic cup full of water. Lon'qu offered it to her.

Robin sat up from her bed, wincing and groaning. Her lower abdomen throbbed. She bent forward, hoping it would alleviate the pain, but instead, it made it worse. A moan escaped her chapped lips. She reached out and her fingers wrapped around the plastic cup. Her fingers brushed against his. Robin graciously accepted the cup and brought it up to her lips. She sipped it. The cool water revitalized her parched mouth and throat. One she was done taking her time drinking the water, she put the cup down on the blanket.

She cleared her throat before speaking. "Thank you."

He reached over to grab the cup and Robin flinched. He withdrew his hand. Robin picked up the cup and handed it to him. "Thank you."

She rubbed her face with her hand. She had an awful gut-feeling about it before they started the procedure. The doctor must've botched it. She wasn't even surprised since abortions were illegal in Plegia. She sighed and rubbed her stomach. At least it was gone.

"What happened?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I don't know. And it's none of my business," he stated.

Robin nodded. She glanced over at the young man sitting on the sofa. He went back to reading the book.

Maybe this one wouldn't be that bad.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I hope it was obvious this chapter took place in the past (except the first scene)... I'm sorry for the angst and lack of Chrom. BUT IT IS LON'QU X ROBIN TOO. And I had this planned for a long time. I'll be revealing Lon'qu's and Robin's past throughout the fic, so keep an eye out for the 'By My Side' chapters. ;)

If I made anyone cry, I'm sorry.

(To whoever called out the bow hair clip being of some significant, KUDOS TO YOU! ;) YOU GOT IT!)


	20. By My Side (Part 2): Strong

**Author's Notes:** Mmm...I feel I really shouldn't have the need to write trigger warnings in a fanfic (and I mean that in the least offensive way ever), but apparently I write dark shit and one can never be too careful. I meant to alternate between Chrobin and Lon'qu/Robin, but I ended up writing Part II and I still need to finish re-reading Pursuit to find details I may have forgotten. Don't want any plot holes. So...fluff must wait. But I promise you, next chapter is fluff. Or my attempt at it anyway.

**TRIGGER WARNING: Attempted suicide, panic attacks**

And also, I don't know what they do in the hospital when someone has a severe panic attack. I read somewhere they give you an oxygen mask. The stuff I found on the internet wasn't very hopeful...I'm hoping that they do a better job than what the people on the internet are saying, because mental illnesses are just as important and as real as physical illnesses.

I also have no idea if Lon'qu is OOC. I'm hoping he isn't. :l

ANYWAY, ON WITH ANOTHER ANGSTY CHAPTER.

* * *

 **Chapter 20:  
** **By My Side (Part II): Strong**

Aversa had a crease between her perfectly shaped eyebrows. Her plump pink lips were curved into a small concerned pout. Her legs were crossed as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Stop looking at me like that," said Robin. She looked down at her hands on her lap to avoid her sister's worried face.

"Are you okay?" asked Aversa.

"Yeah, fine," said Robin.

"I don't believe you," huffed Aversa and crossed her arms. "I heard from your nurse that you're not eating, and about last week…" Her voice died down into whisper.

"I'm fine," said Robin.

Aversa sighed, not satisfied with her answers. She pointed to Lon'qu on the sofa with a manicured thumb. "How's…?"

Robin's eyes flicked up to Aversa and then Lon'qu. "Fine."

"Yay?" Aversa gave thumbs up. "Nay?" Aversa flipped her thumps up.

Robin gave a small shrug. "He leaves me alone."

"Is there anything I can bring?" asked Aversa.

"I'd like some more figs," said Robin. "And I'd like to see Grandpa."

"I can do figs, but Father said you're not supposed to…" Aversa fell silent.

Robin brought up a hand against her left cheek. The cut on her cheek stung at the mention of their father.

" _What motivated you to make such an idiotic decision?" he yelled._ _"Do you even know what you've cost us?"_

" _Mr. President, I don't think this is the time. We can get it back. We_ will _get it back." Priam stepped in. He extended a protective arm in front of Robin. He said over his shoulder, "We're transferring you to another hospital. A quieter place."_

" _You! Stay out of this!" hissed Validar. "Look at you! What do you have to say for yourself?" His eyes were filled with pure rage._

 _Robin raised her head and faced her enraged father. "I went because…" The words got caught in her throat. "Because…they told me they had information on Mom. Because you've done_ nothing _to bring her murder to justice."_

 _Validar's hand whipped across Robin's face. Something hard and sharp grazed her cheek. Her messy bangs draped over her face._

" _How dare you!" he roared._

" _Mr. President, that's enough! Let's call it a day," said Priam. He faced Robin and whispered, "You too. That's enough."_

 _Her left cheek stung. Robin turned her head to see her father adjusting the ring on his middle finger: it always had a tendency to rotate and the sharp features of the ring bothered him._

" _What am I to you?" she asked softly. "All I am is a hazard to the empire you've built. Why didn't you just let me die? Then you wouldn't have lost anything."_

 _Validar scoffed. "You want to know what you are to me?" He grabbed Robin's chin and forced her to meet his eyes. "You are a chess piece. But not just any chess piece. You're my trump." There was a fondness mixed into his words frightened her. "Robin, dearest daughter. There are two types of people in the world. Those who are used and those who use. Your time will come."_

 _Robin didn't say anything. She lowered her gaze instead._

" _I love this country. I will do anything for Plegia to regain its former glory," said Validar. "And sacrifices have to be made for the better. You will understand one day. And don't you dare speak a word of this…embarrassment to anyone. What would you have done if this had gotten out to the news outlets? You should be ashamed of yourself for being so weak…being fucked like some lowly whore."_

" _Mr. President, it's time to take your leave," said Priam. Validar narrowed his eyes at the lawyer. Without another word, he left._

 _Robin sniffled and dropped her head. Then, she burst into tears. Priam sighed and placed a hand on her head as she swiped away at her tears with the back of her hands._

" _It's not your fault, Robin. You've done nothing wrong. This was out of your control," said Priam._

" _Don't do that. Don't pity me too," cried Robin. "The last thing I need is you treating me different too. Just be an asshole to me. As usual."_

" _It's not…never mind, brat."_

" _I want to go home."_

" _I know, but you can't."_

"Robin?" Aversa waved her hand in front her sister's face. Robin finally stirred and stared up at her. "I called you like a hundred times. You blanked out. I thought you fell asleep with your eyes open!" She began to laugh but it grew into a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry, no," said Robin.

"Hey, Robin," said Aversa. Robin noted the unease in her voice.

"Yes?"

"Do you hate me?" asked Aversa.

Robin frowned. "No. Why would I hate you?"

"I dunno. I…I wasn't affected as much as you were about Mom's death, and you had to grow up with Grandpa," said Aversa.

"I love Grandpa," said Robin.

"Yeah, but I spent most of your time with older people, rather than your age group. And you grew up so introverted…cooped up in that small town," said Aversa.

"It's not that small. If you compare Nosfer to Goetia, it seems like a small city, but Goetia is the capital city, Avie," said Robin.

"I know, but I feel guilty. You never had a normal childhood," said Aversa softly.

"You never had a normal teenager's life," said Robin.

"Yeah, but being a model, you don't really get to live a normal life," said Aversa.

Robin sighed. This was going nowhere. "Avie, stop. Don't feel bad. You're going to be arrive home late if you don't leave now. Don't you have a shoot tomorrow?"

"Oh!" Aversa pulled her phone out and checked the time. "Thanks, Robin. Almost forgot. I should head out. Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No. Just figs," said Robin, settling back into bed. Visitors drained her. In fact, talking drained her.

"Okay. How about some madeleines? You loved those as a kid. Mom's bakery franchise is doing really well. They should be opening up some shops in Ylisse in a couple years," said Aversa.

"They don't taste the same as Mom's," said Robin.

"I knew you'd say that. There's this one store in one of the cities on the way here that tastes just like Mom's," said Aversa.

"Sure," said Robin. She pulled the heavy blanket over her chest. She stared at the blank ceiling above her.

"I'll buy some for you," said Aversa.

Robin wanted to see the starry sky, but she was stuck with the white space above her head. It was almost as boring as the new guy, not that he was bad. But he was boring. At the back of her mind, something tugged. She had meant to ask Aversa or Priam for a favour when they came by…

"Oh, right," murmured Robin.

"Yeah?" asked Aversa eagerly.

"Glow-in-the-dark stars," said Robin. "Can you get me some?"

"Yeah, of course!" Aversa nodded with enthusiasm.

"And tell Grandpa I'm alive, I guess," said Robin.

"Okay," said Aversa.

"Thanks for coming by," said Robin. She hoped it didn't sound forced.

"Yeah, I love you," said Aversa.

Robin hummed in response.

"Father sends his regards," said Aversa.

" _Bye_ , Avie," said Robin, trying to usher her sister out.

"Bye…" said Aversa.

Robin closed her eyes and sank into her bed when the sound of the shutting door confirmed that her sister had left.

"You need to eat today," said Lon'qu from the sofa.

"Why? Is the nurse's bitching getting on your nerves?" Robin asked.

Silence.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," said Robin. She exhaled slowly. "That's too bad for you. Not hungry."

* * *

By some miracle, Robin picked up a fork for lunch today. Well, the 'miracle' was thanks to her nurse, Isabel. She had threatened if she didn't at least try to eat today she'd stick a feeding tube in her. Lon'qu wasn't sure if that was either ethical or the correct way to proceed, but he didn't comment.

As of now, Robin was sitting in front of him on the floor, as she usually did if she wanted him to cut something up for her. She scratched her cheek and brushed aside her uneven fringes. Her self-done haircut looked worse today because she showered and it was puffing up. Some of the ends of her hair curled up in funny angles.

Robin made a sound that Lon'qu assumed was her equivalent to a groan. She put down the fork and Lon'qu narrowed his eyes.

He took a second before speaking to mask his annoyance, but it didn't work. "What?" he snapped.

She picked her head up with knitted brows and thinly pressed lips. He stared back, matching her deep dissatisfaction. She still had terrible dark circles that reminded everyone who saw her that she wasn't sleeping well. And he wasn't sleeping well either as collateral! Her crying and tossing and turning kept him up at night. His patience was wearing thin. He couldn't even blow off steam by hitting the gym or going for a jog. If Isabel nagged him one more time about Robin not eating, he'd force feed the ingrate or eat two people's worth of food himself to cover for her lack of appetite.

Robin continued to glare at him. She lifted up her hand. He thought her hand would snap off because it was attached a thin, bony wrist. (She evidently needed to fucking eat.) Her fingers grasped around the fork, but she didn't lift the fork up. Lon'qu held back his frustrated sigh.

"Do you think they'll actually stab a feeding tube in me?" Robin asked. Her scowl softened into a worried face.

Maybe what the nurse said bothered Robin more than she let on. "Yes. I don't think Isabel was making a jest about the matter, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu.

Robin bit her lip. She nudged her broiled vegetables with her fork. Her eyes wandered around the tray, from the vegetables to the slab of beef and then to the bowl of soup and bun.

"Miss Grima, you don't have to eat it all. Your nurse said just a couple bites is fine," said Lon'qu.

Robin put down her fork and pushed the tray away from her. Lon'qu almost pushed the tray back in her face, but to his relief, Robin picked up the bowl of soup and set it in front of her. She reached over for the spoon. Then, she dipped it in and scooped up sustenance. Lon'qu watched her with a bated breath. She leaned in and some of her hair fell in front of her face. She pushed it back with her free hand as she blew. Her eyes were downcast and her long lashes hid her the dark and empty windows to her soul.

She sipped.

It was about damned time. He internally thanked the gods: he'd be spared of the nurse's lecturing. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller. It was Basilio. He glanced over at Robin, who was chewing the soup chunks.

"Excuse me, Miss Grima," he said.

Robin didn't answer him. She was ignoring him again.

He stood up and walked over to his section of the suite and picked up the call. "Hello?"

"How're you holding up?" asked a deep, jolly voice.

"Fine, sir," said Lon'qu. "There were some changes."

"Changes?" Basilio repeated.

"I've currently been moved away from Goetia and its satellite cities to a small town near the eastern border," said Lon'qu.

"Near the ocean, I presume?" asked Basilio.

"Yes, sir," said Lon'qu.

"Why have you been relocated?" asked Basilio.

"A man named Priam showed up and asked Orton to recommend someone for a job and he recommended me," said Lon'qu.

"We have Orton on the file, but not Priam," said Basilio. "Can you disclose more details?"

"I'm working right now, sir," said Lon'qu. That would give Basilio the hint that he wasn't alone.

"Okay, when you have the chance, give me an update," said Basilio.

"Yes, sir," said Lon'qu.

There some loud yelling on the other end of the phone. It sounded like Director Flavia Khan.

"The old hag says hello. I have to go. What did I do this time?" Basilio yelled back.

"You left the toilet seat up again you dumb oaf!"

Lon'qu hung up and gave them their privacy. It appeared that they were over their honeymoon phase. He turned around to head back to the coffee table, but when he returned, he saw that Robin wasn't there anymore. He looked over to the bed and saw that she had settled back into bed. How much did she eat?

"Are you done, Miss Grima?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

That was progress. More often than less she'd choose to not respond. Lon'qu walked back to his seat and ate his lunch.

"How old are you?" asked Robin.

"Twenty," he said.

Then, Robin killed the conversation by going quiet.

"You?" he asked.

She didn't answer. There was the Robin Grima he knew. He took another bite of food. He needed to find a time to talk to Basilio or Flavia.

"Was it Priam?" she asked.

"Yes," said Lon'qu.

"Is he coming by?" she asked.

"He didn't say," he said.

There was another long pause. But after being here for a little over a week, it didn't bother him anymore. He drank the soup. It was a little brand. He missed the spicy Feroxi soup that Flavia made.

"Eigh..."

His ears perked up. "Did you say something, Miss Grima?"

"Eighteen," she said. "I'm eighteen."

* * *

Robin woke up in tears again, gasping for air. She sat up and tried to calm her breathing. She screwed her eyes shut.

 _Her body was pressed up against the concrete wall and his hands were on her again._

Her eyes opened again. She didn't want to sleep. She'd have more nightmares to terrorize her anyway.

 _He reeked of alcohol. "I'll make you feel good."_

The words echoed in her head over and over again. She covered her ears and rocked. Her laboured breaths became hysterical cries marked with gasps. It felt like there was a tonne on her chest and someone hit her on the head with a baseball bat. It hurt. It hurt so much. She was going to die. Gods, she was going to die.

The light flicked on. Lon'qu ran over to her bedside table and pressed the call button.

Oh gods, she woke him up. He was angry at her. He hated her. What was he doing?

"She's having difficulty breathing," he said in a low voice.

She shook her head. She didn't need everyone thinking that she was weak. She was going to die. Everyone was going to think she was weak and she was going to die. She couldn't breathe. Robin grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it. She needed to disappear.

Someone snatched her pillow from her. "You need to breathe, Miss Grima."

She was terrified and so lonesome. She reached out a hand and grabbed at something. It was warm. She didn't want to die.

The next couple moments were a blur. Someone placed an oxygen mask on her face and after several tortured minutes, her breathing calmed and the intense tension in her was replaced with exhaustion. She noticed someone sitting beside her. From the corner of her eyes, she saw man nodding off in a chair. She saw Lon'qu hastily dressed. He missed a button on his shirt and as a result, all the buttons were misaligned. Most of his shirt was hanging out of his pants, rather than neatly tucked in as usual.

"Are you okay, Miss?" he asked.

Robin felt something warm in her hand. She glanced down and saw that she had grabbed his hand. She withdrew her hand from his and murmured an apology.

"It's fine. The on-call nurse said you'll see your doctor tomorrow," he said, getting up from his seat.

Robin didn't have the strength to move. Silently, she blinked up at the ceiling. It was so blank, unmarked. She wished she could start all over again…just like the ceiling.

She mouthed a thank you and Lon'qu nodded with a tired grunt. Maybe she'd have a dreamless night for once.

* * *

"She said I had a panic attack," said Robin over dinner.

Lon'qu gave her a nod, even though she couldn't see it with her bowed head. She probably wanted some form of confirmation.

"I can't do this anymore," she murmured.

She was pushed her food around with her fork. He had a feeling she wasn't going to eat much again. Robin cracked a dry smile and scoffed. For someone so young, she had a frighteningly dark side saw glimpses of, and it never failed to get under his skin.

"You need to eat, Miss Grima," he said.

She hadn't shown any improvement in the week and a half she had been here, except that she stood by the window when she had the energy. She'd stare out for at least fifteen minutes every time she made a visit to the window.

She did say a couple sentences here and there, but other than that, she spent most of the time, ignoring him. Occasionally in the evenings, she'd order him around to cut more figs for her, but other than that, she stayed in bed.

Maybe she didn't want to get better.

Isabel came by and saw that Robin had exactly one bite of her food: a scoop of her mashed potatoes. But unlike usual, she didn't nag Lon'qu about it. Instead, she collected the trays and left.

The next couple days were not great for her either. She had another panic attack and didn't get much sleep at night. How did he know? He didn't get much sleep in the evening because of her. He even found himself nodding off during the day with Robin, who was usually passed out during the day.

That night, Lon'qu found that Robin was asleep at night. He took this opportunity to step outside to give Basilio a call. He headed upstairs to the roof of the hospital; he could watch everyone's movements and watch the one door that led up to the rooftop. When he dialed the number, it was Flavia who picked up.

"It's our son, Basilio!" Flavia shouted.

Lon'qu winced at the volume: they were drinking. "Good evening, Director Khan."

"We miss you, Lon'qu," she said.

"I'm calling to give an update on my progress, ma'am," said Lon'qu.

"I think he called me 'mom', Basilio," she said.

"What are you rambling about? He hasn't even warmed up to me that much," said a deep voice.

Lon'qu sighed. Maybe he should call another time.

This time Basilio picked up the phone. "Hey, Lon'qu. Are you here to give me an update?"

"Yes, sir," he said.

"Actually, let me connect you to Raimi," said Basilio. "I'm not in the greatest condition right now."

"Yes, sir," he said.

The phone dialed again and this time a woman picked up. "Agent Raimi Celik speaking."

"This is Lon'qu Sun," he said into the phone. "The directors told me to speak with you about my position."

"Proceed," she said.

"I'm currently stationed in Sable right now. I've been moved to guard the second daughter of Pelgia," said Lon'qu.

There was rapid typing on the other end of the phone. "How did you go from the Syndicate to guarding the children of politicians?"

"Some man named Priam came by and asked Orton to recommend someone. He sent me," said Lon'qu.

"Orton, the one who's in charge of the province Adalar?" asked Raimi.

"Correct," he said.

"From the files here, Priam and Orton aren't connected. We need more intel," said Raimi. "Do you have any idea how long you'll be on this detour?" she asked.

"Not sure. I don't know what happened, but the girl's traumatized," said Lon'qu. "I think it'll take some time."

"Okay. Good luck. Let us know if there are any other changes, Agent Sun," she said.

"Thank you. Good luck with your upcoming examination, Agent Celik. I hope to see you on the field someday," said Lon'qu.

It was summer. They always did the field agent examinations during the summer. It may seem more intuitive to conduct the examination during winter since it was Regna Ferox, but the summer was more dangerous than the winter. That's when the beasts would come down from the mountains. And the mosquitoes. The mosquitoes were the worst.

"Thank you, goodbye," said Raimi and the phone disconnected.

Lon'qu peered down the edge. The sun had set and he saw the yellow streetlamps around the hospital. The wind was strong up this high, but he enjoyed it. He preferred the chilly summer Plegian evenings over the scorching hot Pelgian days. Then, he saw a pair of white sticks dangling from the side of the building. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on them. It was the room Robin was staying in.

Damn it!

Lon'qu bolted to the door and slammed it open. He grabbed the stair railing and launched himself over, skipping the stairs. Why did he leave her unattended? He swore she was out for the night. As he desperately ran to her room, he could only imagine the worst: finding her not on the window sill, but on the ground. He arrived at the double doors and paused. If he frightened her, she might slip in surprise.

He cautiously turned the door handle and pushed in, the door creaked, announcing his arrival. He walked in and gently closed the door behind him.

She was still sitting on the window sill. Both hands were planted inside the room against a window and the wall. The depressing grey bow was in her hair.

"Miss Grima," he said quietly.

She didn't respond.

"Miss Grima, what are you doing there?" he asked.

Again, silence.

He took this opportunity to close the gap between them.

"I don't think it's ever going to be okay," she whispered. "I can't do this anymore."

He was three meters away from. He watched her shiver when the wind blew.

Did he specifically care about Robin Grima out of fondness? No. Not particularly. When she wasn't making him uncomfortable, she was ignoring him, which was fine, but it was still rude. Did he care enough about Robin Grima to stop her from jumping from the top floor of a hospital? Yes. Yes, he did.

"No one cares. Heck, I don't care," she said.

"I care," he said. Two meters away.

"You're paid to say that," she said softly. "You hate me too. It'd be easier if I disappeared."

"Fine, do what you want," he said. He walked up to the window and leaned his back against it. She wasn't going to jump. He wouldn't let her.

Robin looked at him and sniffled.

"Do you like losing, Miss Grima?" he asked.

She swallowed back a sob. "I don't know…"

"I hate losing," he said. "I hate losing to myself more than my enemies, because often enough, we're our worst enemies. But every time I fall or fail, I get back up, with fists and teeth bared. And each time you get back up, you're that much stronger."

He paused. He wasn't confident about whether his words were reaching her.

"I don't know what you've been through, but you were strong enough to get through that. You survived. You're strong enough to get through the aftermath."

Tears trickled down her pale face.

"If you jump, you're letting whatever or whoever that brought you down like this, win," he said.

"I don't care. It's so hard to breathe. I want to stop hurting," she cried as she shook her head.

"You don't want to die, you want to stop hurting. There's a difference," he said.

Robin sat on the window sill. Her skin was textured with goosebumps and she sniffled and shuddered. Lon'qu stood beside her in silence, hoping that the words sank in. And they froze in time together, allowing the world to continue on without them.

"Can you keep a promise?" she asked.

"What is it, Miss Grima?" he asked.

"Please, don't tell anyone," she said.

"It's not my place to, Miss," he said.

"Promise?" She stretched out a pinky.

"As long as you come down from there and you promise not to do this again," he said.

"Okay."

He linked his pinky with hers.

"You have to stamp on it," she said and wiggled her thumb.

The technicalities of a pinky promise weren't of the utmost importance to him, but he humoured her. He pressed his thumb against her thumb. Her touch was ice cold.

"Can you help me down?" she asked.

Lon'qu wrapped an arm around her back and scooped her legs up with the other arm. She placed an arm on his neck for support. He lifted her up and carried her over to her bed. She was lighter than he thought and her body was freezing cold against his. She must've been contemplating this for a while. He gently settled her in the bed.

"Is there anything else you need, Miss Grima?" asked Lon'qu.

"I want to be okay."

"You will be."

Once he knew she was safe, exhaustion spread throughout his body the moment he sat down. He clenched his hands to stop the slight shaking.

* * *

Priam came to visit about a week later. He arrived with a large box in his arms, and he was cursing about the weather and the traffic on the way here.

"How'd you sneak it in?" Robin asked.

"In my pocket." Priam flashed her a grin.

"Poor kitten," she said as she watched the tiny kitten climb the hills of the blanket.

"It's Aversa's," said Priam. "One of her fans gave it to her."

A lot of people loved her sister. A part of her was envious. She was also Father's favorite.

"Is Avie coming in today?" asked Robin.

"Not today, but she told me to take the cat with me and gave me a box of shit to get to you," he said. He snorted. "It looks like you. Look at its sad eyes."

Robin stared at the light grey kitten. It had a white mark on its forehead. And Priam was right: it did have sad looking eyes.

"What's its name?" she asked.

Priam picked up the cat with one hand. It mewled in protest and grabbed at the blanket with its claws. When he succeeded in prying the kitten away from the blanket, its legs dangled and its paws were spread out.

"Cat with sad eyes, go say hi to the girl with sad eyes," said Priam and dropped the kitten in her lap. "She didn't name it yet. I suggested Spot since she has a spot on her face."

Robin reached out a finger and pet the kitten. It was so small.

"Leave it to you to be creative," she said.

"Ha ha, brat," said Priam dryly.

Her fur was fluffy and soft underneath Robin's fingertips. It settled down in her lap and purred in delight as Robin scratched behind her ear.

"It sounds like a broken vibrator," remarked Priam.

On the couch, Lon'qu spat out his tea and coughed. They both glanced over at him.

"What's his problem?" asked Priam.

"He's not used to your vulgarity. Are you like this in court?" she asked.

"Yes, little Grima. Yes. I make sex jokes in court. What do you think I am? An unprofessional idiot? Wait, don't ans—," said Priam.

Robin interrupted him. "Yes." She continued to pet the kitten. Robin fixated on playing with her adorable tail.

"This is why no one likes you, brat," said Priam.

"This is why no one's going to marry you," said Robin.

Priam scoffed. "I pity the son of a bitch who's going to be tricked into marrying you."

"Did you hear? I'm going to be crazy cat lady," she said.

"You've got the crazy part down, and now you have a cat. I think you already are one," said Priam.

Robin scowled at him. He chuckled and leaned back in his chair with crossed arms. He won that round.

"They told me you're doing better," he said.

She shrugged.

"You agreed to medication," he said. There was a note of surprise in his tone.

"Yeah, only when I need them and just until I'm strong enough…" she said. "I guess I needed some help."

"Lawrence misses you," he said.

Her hand stopped. Robin tore her eyes away from the kitten and met Priam's.

"No, don't look at me like that. I can't," he said.

"Father doesn't have custody over me. I'm legal," she said.

"You know the details of the agreement. We've gone over this a gazillion times for almost two years now, brat," said Priam. "I don't have the patience to go over this again with you."

Robin pouted and went back to petting the kitten. "Can't you sneak Grandpa in your pocket like the cat?"

"Sometimes it amazes me that you finished high school at fifteen and got into the best medical school in Ylisse," said Priam. "Wait, do you rank a hundredth out of the hundred students in your class?"

Robin ignored him and played with the cat's tail.

"You still look like a zombie who got a haircut from a lawnmower, but you seem better. You're actually holding up a conversation," said Priam.

She stroked the kitten's little paws. The ends of her lips tugged. "I have my bad days. Still can't sleep too well, but I don't have the urge to throw myself out the window today. So that's good." She glanced over at Lon'qu.

"How's the new guy?" asked Priam.

"Priam, he's right there," said Robin.

"So?" said Priam. "That never stopped you from saying shit about me in front of Lawrence. Ya little shit."

She sighed at him. "He's fine. How's everything in Goetia?"

"Good," said Priam.

"Mmhmm," Robin hummed. "Hey, Priam."

"Hey, brat," he said.

"Can I call Grandpa on your phone?" asked Robin.

"Sure, if I want my dick on a platter," said Priam.

"You're useless," said Robin.

"I know." He smiled.

"Go home."

"Soon."

"Leave the cat."

"No. Aversa would kill me."

Robin pouted. "Yeah, she would. I would too."

"Anyway, take a look through the box. I gotta head back. They need me tomorrow morning. Say goodbye to Broken Vibrator." Priam reached over for the cat. Robin shielded it with her hands.

"It's sleeping," she said.

"Well, it's going in my pocket," he said.

She withdrew her hands. Priam grabbed the cat from Robin's lap. It mewed it surprise at being abruptly woken up.

"I hope it claws your balls off."

"Broken Vibrator wouldn't do such a thing," said Priam.

"Stop calling her that. It's stupid," said Robin.

"See? It's purring again and I'm not even petting it," he said.

"Don't call her that," said Robin at Priam as he headed to the exit.

"Say goodbye to the brat and the mute, Broken Vibrator," he said. He grabbed the kitten's paw and waved. He spoke in a high-pitched voice, "Bye, brat. Bye, mute."

Priam pointed and laughed at Lon'qu's face.

* * *

He came out of the shower with a towel over his head. He walked past Robin's bed and went to check his phone. There were no missed calls. He came back out and took a gander at her bed, expecting to see her blankly staring at the ceiling with her terrible bedhead.

She wasn't there.

His eyes widened and he made a beeline to the bed and threw the covers off in case she decided to hide in her sheets as a sick joke. Nothing. Her slippers were still beside her bed. Where in the world did she go? His heart began to beat faster and faster.

His eyes flew to the windows. They were all closed. No…she couldn't have. Nevertheless, he ran over to the window, opened them, and searched the ground. Nothing.

She was doing better! She had made progress since the window sill incident two weeks ago. According to Isabel, she actually talked in her therapy sessions now.

What happened? Where was she? Where did they go wrong?

He took a deep breath and then let it out, he left the room and searched around the top floor. Perhaps she decided to go for a walk…did she get kidnapped? There was a reason why he had been stationed here to watch after her. But at the same time, no one knew she was here except for her sister, Priam, and supposedly, her father.

He asked the surrounding people about a young woman with a funny haircut and no one saw her. He checked every single floor and then arrived at the lobby of the hospital broken out in a sweat. His thoughts raced in his head. Each thought was worse than the last one.

Where was the damned Grima girl?

Some poked his side. "Hey, you."

"What?" he yelled, turning around to face a surprised nurse. It was Isabel.

"What's got your panties in a knot?" asked Isabel. "Everything alright?"

"Have you seen her?" he demanded.

"Who? Miss Grima?" asked Isabel.

"Yes! Who do you think I'm talking about?" yelled Lon'qu.

The nurse pursed her lips. "There's no need to be rude."

"Just answer me, woman," snapped Lon'qu.

"I saw her go outside," said Isabel. Lon'qu spun around and ran out the entrance. "You're welcome!" she called out.

He searched for the girl around the hospital perimeter. For all he knew, she could be in some ditch. Dead. He sprinted around the corner to the back of the hospital and saw a couple people sitting on the benches. Some were admiring the gardens and others were enjoying the refreshing temperature.

Then he spotted someone with short dark hair with a bow in her hair sitting on a bench on the far side. He recognized that bow anywhere.

Angrily, he stomped over to the figure, roughly brushing past the other patients on the path. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled. She gasped and raised her arms against him.

"Please don't hurt me," she said, her eyes filled with terror.

Immediately, he withdrew his hands and his anger dissolved into guilt. What happened to her?

"My deepest apologies, Miss Grima," he said.

She calmed down once she realized it was him. She stared at her lap and nervously wringed her hands.

"You should've notified me if you were going to leave," he said firmly.

"I did. When you were in the shower," she said in a quiet voice.

He hadn't heard anything. He sighed in exasperation. Of course, he couldn't hear anything through the shower. Did this girl think?

"Please don't leave unattended, Miss."

She weakly nodded. She hugged her legs against her chest. She wasn't showing any signs of returning to her room, so Lon'qu sat down beside her.

"Why are you out here, Miss Grima?" he asked.

"There's a meteor shower today," she said softly. "Do you want one?"

Lon'qu looked up at the sky, scanning for meteors. All he saw were twinkling stars. "Hmm?"

"Priam brought up some madeleines. They're pretty good," said Robin. She opened the lid of the box beside her and pushed it towards him. "Have one." She picked one up and nibbled on it.

He wasn't a huge fan of sweets, but he could at least try them. He took a madeleine and took a bite. It wasn't as sweet as he thought it was going to be. He chewed and swallowed.

"I'm having an okay day," said Robin.

He grunted in response. He was still irritated with her.

"I got some sleep," she said, lowering her feet down to the ground.

Why was she telling her this? He wasn't her doctor. But he wasn't going to deny wondering about what kept her up late all the time, to only pass out from exhaustion or medication. He had kept an eye on her for a little over three weeks and she hadn't said a word about the matter. Not that she had to, but he was curious as to what could mess up someone this badly.

His thoughts were cut short abruptly when she extended an open hand with a fig in it.

He took it from her hand. He pulled out his pocket knife and sliced the fruit in half.

"Just half is fine," she said. "Have the other half. Food tastes better when it's shared."

He did as he was told and they sat there in silence waiting for the meteor shower to start as they ate.

"You probably think I'm crazy," she said.

"No," he said.

Robin looked at him. Why was she staring now? What did he say wrong this time? This was the most lucid her eyes were. Usually, they were apathetic or fearful. But not now. Right now, they were surprised. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"You don't think I'm crazy?" she asked.

"No, Miss Grima," he said.

Why was that hard to believe? She wasn't crazy. Damaged, yes, but not crazy.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

To his relief, they didn't exchange another word after that. They watched the meteor shower streak across the starry sky, and he was no longer angry with her for disappearing like that. He wondered what life would've been like if his parents weren't deceased and how his little sister was doing.

Maybe Robin wasn't as spoiled as he originally thought. Maybe she was just broken, trying to piece her sanity together, trying to get through one day at a time.

He could understand that. He'd been there before.

When they headed back in, she whispered, "Did you make any wishes?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I want to thank everyone who sent me a message or left a review and read the last chapter. ;A; I honestly thought I was going to lose readers over last chapter, but I was reassured that didn't happen. Thank you.


	21. Right

**Author's Notes:** Okay, so something I want to clear up. Some people were messaging me about my last comment on trigger warnings. I meant that I had mixed feelings in terms of that I AM WRITING SUCH DARK SHIT THAT I NEEDED TRIGGER WARNINGS. I will keep using them, because it's respectful to those why may have gone through traumatic experiences.

Also, for the readers who caught on that I had glaring differences in Robin's psychiatric treatment compared to the North American standard. Don't worry! It was on purpose. ;)

Just a heads-up. This one is NSFW. Well, the first part is.

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Right**

His hands explored the curves of her body. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in close. Once he felt her warm back against his naked chest, he never wanted to let her go; it felt right. She tipped her head back, resting it against his shoulder. Her hair tickled his cheek and her scent titillated him.

He kissed her delicate neck and cupped her breast. She held her breath and swallowed back the sound that was building up at the back of her throat. He leaned her over onto her knees atop the bed. He brushed her long hair aside and trailed kisses down her back. She rewarded him with a sigh of content.

His dick throbbed. He wanted her. He wanted to be in her.

"Please, Chrom, I need you." She spread her thighs.

It overwhelmed him to hear those words. It was difficult to control himself, but he wanted her to be sure. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I want you in me," she begged.

"Okay."

He guided himself into her. He closed his eyes as he pushed into her, relishing in her warmth. It felt amazing. _She_ felt amazing, and even then, 'amazing' didn't even come close.

She dropped her head. "Mmm…" she moaned.

He pulled out and then thrust into her again and again. Soon, he was rocking his hips into her and the bed creaked in protest. His hands found their place on the curves of her hips.

"C-Chrom…ah…"

She was soaking wet. He made her like this. Each of her moans and sighs encouraged him. But, there was an irritating beeping sound.

"You feel so good, Robin." He groaned. The beeping was still going, but it was getting louder. "Do you hear that?" His words were strained. She grew tighter with each thrust.

"Hear…what?" she asked. "Ah, don't stop. I'm so close."

He was almost at his climax too. The beeping sound was still here, and now, it was getting on his nerves. It was ruining this!

"You sure you don't hear that?" he asked.

Her words were rushed and impatient. "What are you talking about?"

"It's starting to get on my nerves," said Chrom through gritted teeth.

Next thing he knew, he was staring up at his ceiling. And he was by himself. He found the source of evil beeping that ruined everything: the alarm on his phone. He sighed. Chrom reached over and turned off the alarm.

After, he draped an arm over his eyes. His cheeks were hot and his body was charged and tense from the…dream. He sighed in disappointment. Then, he sat up.

Oh.

He was going to need a shower.

* * *

"You guys are too cute." Phila gushed at her. "So…did you guys continue the massage?" She wiggled her eyebrows. "Did he take you to his place? Or your place?" She smirked.

"He just dropped me off at home," said Robin, blushing. She poked at her lunch. She glanced around her surroundings to see if anything was listening in on their conversation in the cafeteria.

"Oh," said Phila with clear disappointment written in her face. "Oh!" She perked up in her seat. "Goodnight kiss?" Phila reached over and drank her coffee.

"Nope," said Robin with a shake of her head. "His ex-girlfriend came up. So we did this weird awkward hug thing. He wanted to come up because he had a treat for Gold Digger, but I told him it wasn't a good time."

Phila grinned at her with a raised brow. "He wanted to come up?"

"Yeah," said Robin.

The psychiatrist giggled. "Did he also offer you pancakes too?"

"Damn it, Phila! I told you that he legitimately meant _pancakes_ ," snapped Robin.

"Still don't believe you!" sung Phila. "You let me know when you have 'pancakes' with him, and we'll see who's right. Anyway, back to ex-girlfriend that ruined the mood. What did he say?"

"That it was a long time ago, and they're good friends," said Robin. "I think she works with him. She's really pretty, Phila."

"Hmm…" Phila hummed. She crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair. "You must really like him."

"Huh?" Robin blinked at Phila.

"This is clearly bothering you," said Phila. "Robin, dear, you're an awesome person. And you can be hot as fuck. When you try. Anyone would be lucky to have you. And I can tell he's really into you. He wouldn't stop staring. At you." She pointed to Robin from across the table. "Not whoever his ex is."

"Stop it, Phila. You're making me blush." Robin buried her face into her hands.

"Is it make fun of Robin day again?" someone asked.

Robin picked up her head to see Maribelle with a tray in her hands.

"Hey, Maribelle," said Phila. "Sit, sit." Phila pushed out the chair beside Robin with her foot underneath the table.

"Thanks…Phila," said Maribelle with tightened lips. She sat down in the seat with the two doctors.

"No problem," said Phila, grinning back at their friend.

"Why is Phila bothering you again, darling?" asked Maribelle while fixing Robin's bangs. "Is it just me or have you gotten prettier? Are you wearing makeup? Since when did you know how to wear makeup?"

"See? I told you love makes women prettier," said Phila.

"Ha. Ha. Guys. I know my makeup basics. My sister forced me to learn whenever I was home for the summers. I just don't know how to do the more difficult looks. And can I not be the center of attention?" grumbled Robin.

"How are things with Chrom?" asked Maribelle, her eyes boring into Robin.

"Good?" Robin croaked out.

"And?" Maribelle opened her fruit salad. She waited for Robin to continue, but Robin pretended to be interested in her food. "Lissa is pretty excited about meeting you."

"Lissa?" asked Phila.

"His sister. My best friend," said Maribelle.

Phila put down her sandwich. "Oh, if you know his sister, then you must know about his exes then!"

"Perhaps, but I'm not one for gossip…" Maribelle noticed that Robin and Phila had their eyes fixed on her. She picked up her pink tumbler and sipped her tea. Maribelle gave a small huff. "What do you two want to know?"

"Do you know Sumia?" asked Robin.

"Yes," said Maribelle. "She's really nice."

"Go on," said Phila.

"I don't have dirt on her, if that's what you're asking, Phila," said Maribelle.

"That's not what I want to hear. What happened between then?" asked Phila.

The blonde nurse took a moment before speaking.

* * *

"Thank the Gods it's Friday!" exclaimed Sully, slouching over the table.

"I thought this week went pretty well," said Chrom.

"You've been all annoyingly happy ever since that stuck-up doctor agreed to date a dork like you," said Sully. "You even said that the coffee tasted great, and it _never_ tastes great."

"She's not stuck-up. She's just…reserved," said Chrom.

"What can you say, my dear flower? Loves changes us," said Virion.

"Don't call me that," said Sully. "And why are you still here? I don't understand why we need a sniper on our team at this very moment?"

"The chief thought that I was necessary in case a hostage situation arose," said Virion with a confident smirk.

Someone cleared their voice. Everyone turned to look at Sumia. She had a neat stack of paper in front of her. "Well, I think the chat with Donnel went well."

"He's really enthusiastic," said Chrom.

Sully snorted. "Reminds me of someone when they were at the police school."

Sumia giggled. "Yeah, he was pretty eager, wasn't he?"

"Eager doesn't even cut it," said Sully. "He used to wake us up an hour before we were supposed to get up so all of us to go on group jogs."

"Yeesh," said Virion.

"And Vaike and Chrom competed endlessly at _everything_ ," said Sully. "Pretty sure, they made a bet over Sumia once."

Sumia blushed. "W-What?"

"You don't remember? It was over who got your pie," said Sully.

"Sully, stop," begged Chrom, starting to become bright red. "If we're done, I'm going to head out."

"Wow, you're not staying in, combing through the evidence like usual?" asked Sully.

"No, Cordelia already helped me do that and we still haven't found any leads," said Chrom. "Besides, Chief will get angry with me if I sleep here again."

Sully laughed. "Okay, I'll see you later. Can you tell the Vaikenator to get his paperwork in for once? I'm really sick of doing it for him whenever I'm on cases with him."

"Okay," said Chrom. "It'll be like pulling teeth, but I'll try." He got up from his seat.

"Oh, Chrom, wait," said Sumia.

"Yeah?" Chrom looked up at her.

"Your birthday's coming up…is there anything you need or want?" asked Sumia.

"Nope, I'm good. I have everything I need." A wide grin spread across his face.

"Yeah, you do," said Sully with a sly look.

"Sully!" Chrom blushed.

"Oh, okay," said Sumia quietly.

"Thanks, though. You're so considerate, Sumia. Have a nice weekend, guys," said Chrom.

When they all went their separate ways, Virion caught up with Sully. When he opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off.

"No," she said.

"My dearest flower, I haven't even said anything!" he said.

"Stop calling me that. Call me something awesome, like I dunno…something other than your irritating nicknames. 'Flower' makes me sound like a weakass woman who can't defend herself," said Sully.

"Ah, my dear, but you're the farthest from weak. You're a desert flower, withstanding the unforgiving heat of the sun! You're a rose, beautiful and dangerous with thorns! You're a venus fly…no, not that one." He stopped with his gestures of grandeur and looked around and saw that Sully had left him. Again, he chased after her.

"Wait, I actually have a question," he said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"But let me finish…" said Virion.

Sully began to walk away again.

"Okay! Okay!" said Virion. Sully turned around and returned to Virion. "Does Sumia like Chrom?"

Sully stared at Virion with furrowed brows. "Why?"

"It's pretty obvious. And one-sided," said Virion.

"Never thought you'd be one for gossip," she said.

"Well, it's because I am well-versed in the language of love and I sensed there was a damsel in distress," he said.

"You know, you'd be more suited for an opera stage than as a sniper," she said.

"I often saw operas with my father as a child," he said with a proud nod.

"That would explain a lot," said Sully. "Umm, they were a thing in the past."

"Oh," said Virion wisely and nodded. "That would make sense. And then Chrom dumped her for the lady who I'm going to assume is deaf."

Sully chuckled. "Actually, Sumia dumped him."

"What?" asked Virion, his poise faltering at the words. "Come again?"

"Sumia. Dumped. Chrom. Not the other way around," said Sully. "It was around the end of first year at the academy. They're still good friends, though I don't think Sumia's over him. And Chrom's stupidly dense."

"I see," said Virion.

"What are you two chatting about?" The two turned around to see Cordelia.

"Virion was curious about Sumia and Chrom," said Sully.

Corderlia frowned. "Oh."

* * *

Chrom returned to his desk to double-check if he forgot anything after handing his firearm in. During this time, Sumia came up to his desk with a new police puppy on a leash.

"Hey, Chrom, is there any flavor you want for your birthday cake?" asked Sumia.

"Anything's fine," said Chrom. "You really don't have to worry about this Sumia."

Robin had decided that she'd bake him a birthday cake. He smiled at the thought, and then stifled a yawn. Chrom glanced at the puppy. "Cute recruit."

"Did you not sleep well?" Sumia tilted her head to the side.

Chrom avoided Sumia's concerned face. He pretended to busy himself with a couple empty manila files. "Yeah, just…had a dream."

"Oh, was it a bad dream?" asked Sumia in concern.

His face flamed. "N-No…" he murmured. "It's nothing." Except that he was really into a certain someone enough to have a dream about that.

"You know you can talk to me, Chrom," said Sumia.

"Yeah, I know. It's nothing," said Chrom. He checked his phone. There weren't any texts from his current favorite person. He wondered if she was busy today. He remember her moans and it made his ears tingle and his stomach do flips.

"Are you okay?" asked Sumia.

"I'm going to head home," said Chrom. He walked around Sumia and quickly shuffled away.

He'd ask if she was up for dinner or coffee.

* * *

Robin slowly opened her heavy lids. She reached over for her phone on her bedside table to check the time. Two hours had passed since she had fallen asleep after coming back from work. She couldn't figure out why she was feeling so tired this week. She groaned as she rolled out of bed and headed to the washroom.

When she came out, she knew why she was feeling off: it was her time of the month.

Robin had a vicious craving for ice cream. She plopped back onto her bed and half expected the jingling of Gold Digger's collar. But she head nothing. Lazily, she picked her head up to see if the pug was anywhere to be seen. He wasn't in her room. He was probably outside with Priam. She reached over for her phone again and saw that she had a couple messages from 'Police Stalker'.

 _Hey, Robin. Happy Friday!_

Robin tiredly smiled at the text. Cute.

 _Are you up for dinner or coffee? We can share our weeks._

It was way past dinner and drinking coffee wouldn't help her sleep at night at this point. She just really wanted ice cream.

Suddenly, her door opened. "Oi, brat!" shouted Priam.

There was a jingling sound coupled with an excited sprint coming towards her. Gold Digger jumped up at the bed, but only his front paws made it. He desperately tried to climb up with his short hind legs, but he fell onto the ground with a grunt. He barked at Robin, telling her to pick her up.

"What?" snapped Robin.

"I'm going out for a bit. Don't cause any trouble," said Priam, pointing an accusing finger at her.

Robin rolled her eyes and hoisted Gold Digger onto the bed to silence him. "Is there any ice cream?"

"You're on your period," Priam stated with a flat face.

"How do you know that?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Oh my gods, you didn't look through my period app on my phone did you? Holy shit, Priam, that's beyond creepy."

"Brat, I've been buying you those fucking crotch diapers ever since you _got_ your period," snapped Priam. "You always made me get you ice cream whenever I had to babyshit your sorry ass. You don't remember freaking out when you got your first period?"

Robin pursed her lips. She didn't want to remember.

"Do I need to remind you? You should be grateful I was there," said Priam.

" _Priam! Priam! Priam!" screamed Robin as she ran down the wooden stairs. She missed a step and slipped, landing on her back, which added to the tears already streaking her cheeks._

 _Priam ran from the kitchen to her, nearing tripping over himself on the way, and found her bawling on the stairs._

" _What? What's wrong, brat?" he demanded. He checked to see if she was hurt anywhere. "Damn it. Say something!"_

" _I-I'm dying," she cried._

" _What are you talking about?" asked Priam._

" _I'm b-bleeding," said Robin. Snot was dribbling down her nose and into her mouth. Her hair was sticking to her wet cheeks._

" _Where? Where are you bleeding? Your knee? Did you trip again? Let me see? I told you to be careful, ya idiot!" said Priam. "We'll just stick a bandage on it."_

 _Robin shook her head. "I can't show you. But I know I'm dying. Call Grandpa." She wailed. "My tummy hurts too."_

" _Little Grima, why can't you show me where you're bleed—" Priam stopped and stared at Robin. "Oh for the love of the gods! You insufferable brat! You scared the living shit out of me!" he yelled._

 _Robin cried even harder. She pulled at Priam's sleeve. "I want G-Grandpa."_

 _Priam sighed. "Grandpa's not in town. You know that. And you're not dying. You got your period."_

" _No, I'm dying, Priam." Robin snorted and hiccupped._

" _It happens to girls every month. Didn't they teach you this in school?" said Priam. "Damn it, why do I have to deal with this?"_

" _So I don't get to see my mom?" she asked._

" _No. You get to wear crotch diapers. Lucky you. They're kinda like bandages, I guess," said Priam. "I thought this was much more serious. Brat, I was so close to putting together a bulletproof defense on my case."_

" _I'm not dying?" Robin wiped away the tears that kept leaking out of her raw eyes, wave after wave._

" _No. I just told you. Don't you listen? It's normal," snapped Priam. He offered a hand out to Robin. Her little hand grabbed his hand and he helped her down the stairs._

" _I want ice cream. Can we get ice cream? Grandpa takes me for ice cream when I'm sad." Robin sniffled._

" _Brat, I_ just _fucking started working at a law firm. You think I'm made of money?" he asked. "Your grandfather isn't paying me to watch your sorry ass. You should grateful."_

" _Grandpa said to not to swear," said Robin through her shuddery sniffles. "I'm telling."_

 _Priam sighed. "Don't do that, brat. No one likes a tattle tale. Let's make a deal. I buy you ice cream and get you crotch diapers, and you let this slide."_

" _Okay. Can I have two scoops?" asked Robin._

" _Sure," grumbled Priam, giving into the little girl. He grabbed his jacket and slipped it on._

" _Am I really not dying?" asked Robin._

" _No, you're not dying, brat."_

" _Can I have a piggy back ride?"_

" _You're pushing it now."_

Robin blushed and scowled at Priam, who looked equally irritable. "Okay, firstly, not my fault the school didn't teach me shit. And not my fault I had no women in my life to teach me what was going to happen."

"You ate so much ice cream. So much," grumbled Priam as he walked away. "I'm not buying crotch diapers for you anymore!"

"Stop calling them that! They're called 'pads', you idiot! Grow up!" she yelled back. Gold Digger clawed at her leg, begging for her attention. Robin scratched his ear.

"Ice cream goes straight to your ass, little Grima!" Priam shouted back.

Robin glared at the spot Priam had been standing at. "I still want ice cream though," she whined to the pug. "Maybe Chrom will take me."

Robin dialed 'Police Stalker' and waited for him to pick up on the other end.

It wasn't long until he picked up. "Hey, Robin!"

"Hey, Chrom. Sorry I didn't answer your texts, I fell asleep," said Robin.

"No problem. How's everything?" asked Chrom.

Gold Digger made grumbling noises as he settled into Robin's lap. "Stop it, Gold Digger. Be nice," said Robin.

Chrom chuckled on the other end. "Still can't believe someone named a dog 'Gold Digger'."

"Hey, so I really want ice cream. No, more like desperately need ice cream," she said. He laughed. She smiled at the sound of his laugh and giggled with him.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked.

"You're okay with this?" she asked.

"Of course," he said.

"There's a Nadine's around here," she said. Gold Digger barked, growing impatient with Robin's slowing hand. "I think Gold Digger wants to come too."

"Sure, I still have my treat for him," he said. "I can leave now and pick you up. It'll take me about twenty minutes if I account for traffic."

"Okay, sounds like a plan," she said. "See you in twenty."

"I'll let you know when I'm there."

"Okay, can't wait," she said and hung up. "I'm getting ice cream!" she exclaimed. Gold Digger excitedly bounced around her. "Oh shit. I have twenty minutes to get ready. All I want to do is wear sweatpants though."

* * *

Chrom waited in front of Seraph Tower. He craned his neck out to get a better look at the building. It was huge. He saw a small figure emerge from the entrance with a small animal on a leash. She was dressed in tight black pants and an oversized sweater.

Robin walked over to his car and opened the door. "Thanks for picking me up," said Robin. She scooped up the pug and hopped in.

"No problem." He smiled at her. It had been such a long time since he last saw her. "Hi, Gold Digger." He reached over to pet the pug but he stopped when the pug growled.

"Gods, Gold Digger, stop being a butt to Chrom," said Robin. "Sorry, Chrom. He'll warm up to you. Do you know where to go?"

"Yup, my younger sister, Lissa, loves that place," said Chrom. He checked over his shoulder for oncoming traffic.

"She knows what the good stuff is," said Robin. "Oh, by the way, sorry that if I look awful today. Having a bleh day."

"No, you look cute," said Chrom.

She dropped her head. "Oh," she murmured. "Really?"

"Yeah," said Chrom.

"Thanks."

"How was your day?" he asked. They still had a while to go.

She tucked a hair behind her ear. "Fine. You?"

"It was good. It got better now," he said.

"You're making it impossible for me to dislike you," she said with a laugh.

"Well, I'd hope so. Oh, can you grab the paper bag on my dashboard?" asked Chrom.

Robin reached over and grabbed the paper bag off of the dashboard. Gold Digger sniffed it and wagged his tail. "Do you like what you smell, you silly pug? Why don't you give it to him?" She offered it to Chrom.

"But I'm driving," he said.

"You're at a red light," said Robin.

Chrom reached into the bag and pulled out a bone-shaped treat. "Does he know any tricks?"

"All he's really capable of is eating, farting, and snoring when he sleeps," said Robin. "How about we try to get him to like you first?"

Gold Digger stared at the treat and then looked up at Chrom. He licked his lips by didn't move. It was like he was judging him.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" asked Chrom.

"No…normally Gold Digger's a pig," said Robin. Her brows knitted into one another. "Gold Digger, Chrom's trying, okay? Just humour me and get along?" She stroked the dog's back.

Gold Digger grunted and hesitantly took the treat from Chrom's hand. He turned around, facing his back towards the man and ate his treat.

"I don't think he likes me very much," said Chrom with a low chuckle.

"He's just playing hard to get. Aren't you, fatty?" Robin poked the pug's side. "It's okay. I like you enough for both of us." Her eyes widened at her words and she brought up a hand to her mouth. She cleared her throat and stared out the window.

"T-Thanks," said Chrom. His heart hammered in his chest.

* * *

They had opted to sit at the long table near the window to keep an eye on the pug. The pug glared at the couple sitting side by side as they enjoyed ice cream. Robin happily swung her feet and devoured her ice cream.

"Is it okay to leave Gold Digger outside?" he asked.

"Yeah, apparently he likes to defecate inside stores," said Robin. She scooped up a huge amount of cookies and cream ice cream and stuffed it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned in absolute delight.

Chrom's Adam's apple bobbed at the sound Robin made. He blushed at the memory of his dream. He dropped his head, trying to hide the look on his face.

"Oh my gods, thank you so much for taking me for ice cream. I was _dying_." She sank into her seat. "Want some?" She offered Chrom a spoonful of her ice cream.

"S-sure," he said. He leaned in and ate off her spoon. He gave her a thumbs up and a strained smile. He couldn't think straight with her leg rubbing against his. Robin was too excited about ice cream to notice.

She turned to him with her head tilted and smiled. Her crinkled eyes and curved lips drew him in. Her lips looked so enticing.

"Gold Digger looks miserable outside." She tapped on his leg and pointed to the pug, but his eyes were on her the entire time.

He agreed with her.

"I'm glad I could finish my Friday off with you and ice cream," she said.

"Yeah?" Gods, seeing her this happy warmed his insides despite the coldness of the ice cream.

She nodded. Then her smile faltered. "You keep staring at me. Is there something on my face?"

Chrom shook his head. "No. You look adorable."

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Chrom, I came out with lounge wear on, you really don't have to try to flatter me."

"No, really," he said and brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes.

He felt a pull towards her. A pull he couldn't fight any longer.

He wondered if she would be okay with it. He curiously leaned in. She didn't move away. Oh no, what if she turned her head last minute and gave him the cheek. He nearly stopped for a second, but realized that would make it worse. He'd have to just go for it. It was now or never!

He pressed his lips against hers, and felt her stiffen at contact.

When he pulled back for a second to gauge her reaction, she stared back at him with wide eyes, flushed cheeks, and parted lips. Okay, maybe she didn't want to be kissed. Damn it. He messed this up. He messed this up bad. Was it too soon? Did he have bad breath? Was this the end?

"Robin, I…I'm sorry. I should've asked first."

She put down her spoon. Then, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her. When their lips were a hair's breadth away, she paused. "Just kiss me, you dork." Robin claimed his lips.

The lips he had yearned for were as soft as he imagined. He could taste her ice cream on her cool lips. He brought up a hand behind her neck and pulled her in closer. He parted his lips and brushed the tip of his tongue on her bottom lip, asking permission for entrance. She smiled and then returned to him. She deepened their kiss.

Nothing had felt this right in a long time.

He wanted her to never stop. He wanted her to never leave his side. He wanted her all to himself.

Then, she pulled away to his dismay. They silently leaned against one another's foreheads.

She teased him. "Sorry, I should've asked first." She giggled. "Oh gods, I'm so embarrassed now." Robin hid behind her hands.

If what he had felt before wasn't falling for her, he knew he was in big trouble now. Because he had fallen for Robin. Hard.

"Hey, Robin." He was as shy as she was at this point, but he needed to ask her now, when he had the courage. When he knew her answer. He gently pulled her hands away from her blushing face. "Can we be exclusive? Will you be my girlfriend?"

She raised her gaze and met his eyes. A smile spread on her face. She nodded.

Chrom couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy. He watched Robin pick up her spoon again. Her spoon shook as she tried to eat the rest of her ice cream. She nervously laughed.

"Stupid spoon," she murmured.

"Would you like some help?" he asked.

* * *

Robin returned home with a grumpy Gold Digger. He disapproved of their official relationship already. He fought her all the way home to the door. When she opened the door, she saw Priam.

"Hey, Priam!" Robin kicked off her shoes. "You're back early."

"Why do you sound happy? I hate it when you sound happy," he said, turning around. "Stop smiling like that, it's annoying."

"Hmm? I'm not smiling." Robin skipped to the kitchen to grab a glass of water with the huge grin.

Chrom's birthday was next Friday, she wondered what kind of cake to bake him. She already knew what to get him as a gift.

"Brat," Priam called her from the living room.

Robin poured herself a glass of water and drank it. The water tasted really sweet today.

"Brat!" Priam called her again.

"What?" she answered.

"C'mere! Hurry!" Priam shouted.

There was a bounce in her gait as she headed over to Priam. "What's up?"

"Validad wants to eat food with your next Friday," he said.

Robin's face fell. She gripped her cup. Friday was his birthday, and knowing her father, there was no way out of this. She sighed. She was going to miss her boyfriend's first birthday together as a couple.

"Don't call him that," she said quietly.

"What? Validad? I think it's funny." He snorted.

"I don't like it," she snapped. "He hasn't been much of a _dad_ to me."

"He's still your father no matter what you say. Blood is thicker than water. And you're Plegian. No matter what you say, you'll fulfill your duty to your family," said Priam.

She sighed and her shoulders slouched.

"It's just dinner. Relax. Do you have a congratulatory gift for his election win?" he asked.

"No. I'll do that this weekend," she said. "An expensive watch should do, right?"

"Yeah," he said. "Aim for at least seven thousand G's."

"Do you want my card and you can do this for me?" she asked.

"How do you know I won't get him a vibrating cock ring?" he asked.

"Eugh, sometimes, you're trash," Robin huffed, and stomped away.

"One more thing, little Grima!" Priam shouted over his shoulder. "Clear your weekend. We're studying! If you're all happy and shit because you and the po-po had plans on being losers and getting your freak on this weekend, well, you're welcome for ruining it. I'm saving you from embarrassing yourself."

"When am I supposed to get him the present then?" asked Robin.

"We can go together," he said. "Just you and your favorite person, me."

"Great. Shopping with Priam. It'll be so much fun." Robin rolled her eyes and waved her hands. "Thanks for ruining my great mood."

"You're welcome!"

* * *

Robin lied awake in her bed, texting Chrom. The light from the phone illuminated her silly grin. She swore her face was going to hurt tomorrow from smiling so hard. But her eyelids were growing heavier by the second. And then, she fell asleep with her phone in hand.

Her phone continued to buzz and sing. The last text was from 'Chrom'.

 _I can't wait to see you again._

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** PSYCHE! Who thought they were actually doing the dirty at the beginning of the chapter? *evil giggle* I couldn't help it. I just...yeah...*shifts eyes* I hope the fluff overload remedied your agony from the last two chapters.

I actually fretted a lot about posting this chapter.

If anyone has constructive criticism, please let me know. I promise I won't cry or quit writing. I'm struggling quite a bit with writing lately and I can't seem to pinpoint where I need to improve. I am making an effort to 'show' rather than 'tell'. :l It's harder than I thought, but I think I made some progress? And I am making an effort to cut down on adverbs and filler(?) words. I know my POVs writing isn't solid yet, but I've been noticing it and trying to change it. I can't tell if it's a stylistic thing I'm having problems with.


	22. Clause

**Author's Notes:** Man...it's getting hard to title these chapters.

* * *

 **Chapter 22:** **Clause**

Lon'qu rang the doorbell of the house gate and waited. He heard faint footsteps on the other side of the door and then the door opened, revealing an older man with a grey ponytail and a serious face. At the sight the younger man, his face softened into a small smile. Lon'qu returned his smile. It had been a while since he has saw his godfather, Yen'fay. Lon'qu saw how the years had aged his face and how some of the grey strands of his hair faded into white.

"It's about time you came to say hello," said the man, moving aside to let him in through the gate.

"My apologies, Uncle," said Lon'qu and bowed his head. "I couldn't spare a free day without Ke'ri complaining about being lonely."

"It's alright. Come on in. I'll make some tea," said Yen'fay. His sandals shuffled against the walkway to the house.

Lon'qu nodded and followed Yen'fay into the house. He slipped of his shoes and stepped onto the wooden floor. It was odd stepping into the home he grew up in.

"Do you still have the keys to the apartment?" asked Yen'fay.

"Yes, I've been dropping by the apartment since it's closer to the hospital," said Lon'qu.

Yen'fay grunted with a nod. Lon'qu quietly followed behind his godfather into the kitchen. "No, you go sit in down," ordered Yen'fay and patted Lon'qu on the shoulder.

"I can help," said Lon'qu. It was rude to leave his godfather behind to do everything.

"You're probably tired from taking care of Ke'ri. Go sit down. I may be old but I know how to manage a tea kettle. Unless you are doubting me," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"I meant no disrespect," said Lon'qu.

Yen'fay chuckled. "Relax. You're not on the job. I'm family, Lon'qu."

"Right," said Lon'qu. He turned to head to the living room.

As he made his way to living room, he saw that not much had changed. The furniture was the same. The framed photos hung around the house and on the furniture were the same. The same clock ticked away on the wall. His second childhood home was at a standstill.

Lon'qu wandered around the perimeter of the living room, taking a gander at the photos. Yen'fay never married nor had kids because of his line of work. He didn't deem that it would be fair to his family, if he had one. Thus, all the photos were of friends and Lon'qu and Ke'ri growing up. He had raised both Lon'qu and Ke'ri after his parents had passed.

He paused in front of one photo. It was the photo that was taken a couple months after Ke'ri was born. All four of them were happy, healthy, and alive in the photo, with the addition of a stoic godfather, Yen'fay. He remembered the day they took it—the grand opening of his father's third restaurant. Lon'qu's father had a proud hand on Lon'qu's shoulder and a loving arm around his wife who held baby Ke'ri who had fallen asleep. Yen'fay looked like he was edited into the photograph because he looked so stiff and uncomfortable.

"Ke'ri reminds me of your father. Cheerful, outgoing," said Yen'fay from behind. He had a tray in his hands. "You. You are like your mother. Calm. Collected. Strong. I don't have enough fingers on my hands for the times your mother had to placate your father every time he was stressed about a new recipe, a bad food critic review, or a guest appearance on television." He moved to the coffee table with a low chuckle.

Lon'qu turned away from the photo. He didn't need to think about what ifs. It was a waste of time. What ifs wasn't going to bring his parents back. The living had to keep on living.

Yen'fay poured two cups of tea from the clay teapot brewing green tea. Lon'qu sat down on the floor on the opposite side of the table.

"Is everything going well?" asked Yen'fay, offering the cup to Lon'qu.

"Thank you," he said, receiving the cup. "Everything is going well. Basilio has probably mentioned a couple things. But other than that, I am not to speak of my assignment."

Yen'fay nodded. "Yes, I am aware. I've worked in the field for intelligence before. I did something similar to what you're doing, but with the Chon'sin Triad."

"Your last mission," said Lon'qu quietly, recalling how Yen'fay was called away during the start of his own career. Ke'ri had to be taken care of by the Chon'sin Intelligence Agency then. Yen'fay's younger sister, Say'ri, had kept an eye on her. He already felt awful for leaving Ke'ri behind to pursue his purpose in life, but he felt even worse when he found out that Ke'ri was left with someone she was probably unfamiliar with.

"It was after they raped and tortured that girl with sleep deprivation days on end for a month that," started Yen'fay and paused to take a moment. He picked his cup with both hands, blew on it, and sipped.

Lon'qu focused on his godfather, his hand gripping his tea cup. It burned.

Yen'fay breathed out remorsefully through his nose. Gently, he put his tea cup down. "I decided I'd stay behind the scenes. I probably blew my cover anyway by tipping off the Grima Syndicate about the girl. But, it was wrong to let it continue. The man I had to work with was depraved. I couldn't always keep an eye on her, but in the brief glimpses I got of her, I learned that even if you're breathing, you can still be dead. I must've gone soft raising you two," he said with a scoff.

It was rare for Yen'fay to disclose his own experience of being a field agent. Lon'qu didn't know his code name—Wei'fang—until Basilio slipped up when he was drunk and recalling the joint Chosin-Feroxi missions.

"She didn't know anything," said Yen'fay.

It had hit him like a train. Lon'qu's eyes widened and his mouth went dry. A shiver shot up his spine. His chest tightened.

"Uncle," Lon'qu croaked. He cleared his throat.

Yen'fay raised a calm brow.

"Was this girl possibly, Robin Grima?" he asked quietly. He hoped it wasn't her. He prayed it wasn't her.

Yen'fay watched Lon'qu clench his tea cup.

"We didn't forward this information over to Regna Ferox, since it wasn't worth mentioning," said Yen'fay.

"Was it Robin Grima?" He forced the question, causing the older man frown.

"It was."

Lon'qu screwed his eyes closed and dropped his head. He had no idea. And it explained a lot. Her panic attacks, the terrified look she had whenever someone woke her, her cries out at night. Her long stay in the hospital far away from everyone.

"Lon'qu, why does this matter?" asked Yen'fay.

"I've had to be Robin Grima's bodyguard on and off since she was eighteen," said Lon'qu. "I've known her for nearly a decade and I had no idea."

"You sound far more invested than you should be," said Yen'fay with a deep frown. The warning tone in his voice did not go amiss.

"You're mistaken," said Lon'qu. "I'm being thorough. I'm…angry at myself for missing such a detail."

Yen'fay's lips pulled into a dissatisfied line, but he chose to remain quiet. He drank his tea.

"Your tea is getting cold," said Yen'fay.

Lon'qu nodded somberly.

"Don't you want to retire or opt for a behind-the-scenes position?" he asked. "Ke'ri misses you a lot. It'd be nice for you to come home. You could follow in your father's footsteps, like you always wanted to and pursue culinary arts."

"That was before my parents were murdered by the Grima Syndicate," stated Lon'qu.

"You have done enough, Lon'qu. They would not want you to live your life seeking revenge on their behalf. No one could have predicted that there would be a petty gang fight when your parents were in Plegia for business," said Yen'fay.

"They were closed caskets," said Lon'qu. "Their bodies were so badly riddled with bullets, they felt that it was best to have closed caskets."

Yen'fay fell silent.

"My grandmother died shortly after from the shock, leaving Ke'ri and me with no family," said Lon'qu. "Uncle, it started out as revenge. I used to be angry. But now, it's about doing the right thing. Others have suffered like I have. I'm in too deep. I've come too far to stop."

"And you're okay with destroying yourself and your humanity during the process?" he asked.

"Yes. If the orders are given, so be it."

"Lon'qu, you're young. Which also means you're foolish. I hope you will realize that there is more to life," said Yen'fay, getting up from his seat. "Stay for dinner. I've missed having you around."

* * *

Detailed maps of Ylisstol were spread out on the coffee table. Each one of them had red and purple cells that were shaded in haphazardly. On top were various wrapped candies placed on the coloured areas like game pieces on a board game of world domination.

"What are you doing?" asked Robin, sitting down on the couch and crossing her legs. In her hands was a hot cup of tea with steamy wisps rising from the cup.

Gold Digger jumped up on the spot beside Robin and settled down. She scratched the dog's ear and then went back to warming her hands up with the cup of tea.

"Preparing for today," said Priam, removing the wrapped chocolates that were any colour other than blue from a certain cohort of chocolates.

A small frown appeared on Robin's face. Her eyes darted about the map, studying and analyzing its content. "What is this?"

"Don't play dumb, brat. You know what this is," he said. "Say, you were a bit of a nerd as a kid, right? All you did was play chess or Fire Emblem as a kid with Lawrence when you weren't studying or reading."

Robin blew at her tea before sipping it. "Yeah, what of it?"

"Didn't you win a couple titles too?" he asked.

"Second youngest grandmaster for chess and and youngest for Fire Emblem in Plegia. Grandpa was the youngest person to be earn the grandmaster title for chess," she said.

"No wonder you didn't have any friends," said Priam.

"I did have friends, for your information," said Robin.

"Yeah? What were their names?"

She grew quiet as she took a moment to think.

"That's what I thought," he said.

"Shut up! I did have friends! There was…uh…Henry! Yeah! There was Henry! I was a few grades ahead of him, but we were the same age. Hah! See?" Robin smiled smugly at Priam.

"So you had a 'friend' not 'friends'," said Priam, emphasizing the plural difference of the words.

"Still counts," said Robin.

None of Priam's mean words were going to get to her today. She had an amazing start to her day: she woke up to a text from Chrom.

 _Good morning, beautiful. Have a great day!_

Robin smiled as she stare at her tea her tea. Priam wasn't going to bring her down today. No siree.

"Oi, little Grima. Stop making eyes at your tea. It's weird," said Priam, snapping his fingers trying to get her attention.

"Eugh, what do you want you stupid sex addict?" Robin groaned.

"You still think you're at the grandmaster level?" asked Priam.

"Priam, grandmaster is a title for life," said Robin. "I may be rusty since I haven't played much since I left Nosfer, but I'm sure I could still beat most professionals. I did learn from the best."

"Sometimes, it amazes how nerdy your entire family is," said Priam. "Amelie was the only normal one."

"Hey! Don't say shit about Grandpa! I'll take you down," she said.

"I'd like to see you try," said Priam with a loud snort.

"Besides, according to Grandpa, Mom was really good at math, especially fractions," she said. "So, Mom was a nerd too."

"You know, what surprises me more is that your father was okay with you playing in those public competitions."

"I played under an alias, Estelle Falk, and I usually wore a hood to the games. And no interviews."

"Of course, it's Rosannian," scoffed Priam.

"Well, Grandma was Rosannian and Mom was half-Rosannian."

"I remember how he wanted to move there and take you with him."

Robin chuckled and she stared at her tea with softened eyes. "Father wouldn't allow it. He threatened to take Grandpa back to court over the custody dispute if he tried to even put me on a plane. Grandpa still wants to move there though." Then the two shared a moment of silence before Robin spoke again. "I wonder how he's doing."

"Let's get back to today's task at hand," he said. "Would you like to add a clause to our deal?"

"Why?" asked Robin, her eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"I'm going to let you in on a secret," said Priam. "Because you're my favorite Grima."

"Stop saying that. We all know everyone's favorite is Aversa," said Robin, rolling her eyes. "Get to the point."

"Your father wants you back in Plegia," said Priam. "He'll probably bring it up at the dinner next Friday."

The disdain she had for Priam evaporated the moment he said the words. Blood drained from her face and a shiver shot up her spine. She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat felt too dry, too shocked to form coherent words.

"Something about making a public entrance and political marriage, et cetera, et cetera. I don't really remember the details. You know how boring your father can be." Priam waved his hand, dismissing the matter like it was nothing.

Slowly, with trembling hands, she brought the cup up to her lips and sipped the hot liquid. Gold Digger nudged her with his nose and whimpered. Robin put the cup down on the table in front of her.

"Brat, relax. You'd think I just told you that you were going die," said Priam, chuckling.

"What difference is there?" she hissed.

It hadn't even been a month since had been with Chrom. And she had made a lot of great friends in Ylisse over the years. From what she could recall, she hadn't done anything wrong to upset her father. Like he expected, she had remained hidden and lived a quiet life and put up with the suffocating rules that Lon'qu and Priam often enforced on her father's behalf. Despite it all, she established some normalcy in her pathetic life. Life was getting interesting after Chrom barged into her life. She even dared to believe that she was allowed to be happy like every other human being in the world.

"Hear me out, little Grima. I can try to get him to change his mind. You know arguing is my specialty," said Priam with a wink. "Don't you at least want to have _some_ fun with your new boyfriend?"

Robin's eyes flicked over to Priam, intensely boring into him, trying to dissect what he was trying to imply.

"Priam, don't fucking play with me," said Robin darkly.

He gave her a crooked smirk. "Never."

"What's your proposed clause?" asked Robin.

"I'll try to change your father's mind. If that doesn't work, at the very least, extend your stay in Ylisse," he said.

Robin crossed her arms. "For what? What do you want from me?"

"You," he said pointing to her, "help us think of a plan to sort out our 'hypothetical' problems." He stabbed his finger onto the map he was setting up. "Technically, you're not committing any crimes."

She rolled her eyes with a dry chuckle. "Let me guess, the candy pieces are supposed to be like game pieces for me to think up a strategy."

"You catch on fast," he said, a wide grin spreading on his face.

Then, her phone went off beside her. A text from Chrom had arrived. Robin stared at her phone but didn't move to check it. Instead, she turned to Priam.

"I don't know how much help I'll be. And there aren't any rules or structures like chess or Fire Emblem for me to go off of. And I don't know how my opponent behaves," she said.

"Sometimes, it's a lot more fun when there are no rules," said Priam. "I trust that you'll come up with something interesting. So do we have a deal?"

Perhaps she could do something about her situation now that she knew what was to come. She had time to formulate a plan, to strategize, to escape.

"You have yourself a deal."

* * *

That was odd. Robin hadn't responded to any of his texts in the last couple hours. Chrom put his phone into his pocket.

The knife in Lissa's hand stopped chopping the vegetables on the cutting board. "Are ya waiting for something?" she asked.

"Robin hasn't text me back all day," said Chrom.

"She's probably busy, Chrom. She told you that she would be, didn't she?" said Emmeryn.

Chrom nodded and slouched over the table with a heavy sigh. "It's so boring. I miss her already."

"Chrom, you're the most boring out all of us and we haven't had dinner together in a couple weeks," said Lissa. "If you have time to complain, you should help us cook." Lissa pointed the knife at Chrom.

"Lissa, you told me to step aside because you wanted to chop the vegetables," said Chrom.

"You did say that," said Emmeryn with a soft giggle. "It's nice to see you focused on something other than work."

"Yeah, I guess," said Chrom, a pink tinge appearing on his cheeks.

"So, when do we get to meet her?" asked Lissa as she struggled to split the carrot in half with the knife.

"Do you want me to do that for you?" asked Chrom.

"No, I got it," she said. "I heard from a little birdie that you two are official now."

"Who?" asked Chrom, raising both eyebrows.

"Maribelle. I thought it was pretty obvious," said Lissa, finally slicing the tough carrot in half.

"Wow, word gets around fast," he said.

"I think one of their mutual friends spreads the word pretty fast. Apparently, she sends mass texts," said Lissa.

"Phila," said Chrom. Of course.

"Yeah, I think that was her name," said Lissa.

"You should bring her over for one of our family dinners," said Emmeryn.

"Yes! Brilliant, Emm," said Lissa.

"Lissa, you're going to cut yourself, please stop waving the knife around," said Emm. "And Chrom, if Robin's feeling up to it, you should take her to the family cottage this summer."

Both Lissa and Chrom fell silent as they watched the oldest Exalt throw some herbs into the pot roast they were preparing.

"It's still there?" asked Lissa quietly.

"Why wouldn't it be?" asked Emmeryn, kindly laughing at her question.

"I completely forgot about it," murmured Chrom. "We haven't gone there since Mom and Dad..."

"I think this year is a good year to start using it again. The lake is right beside the cottage and the night sky is probably as beautiful as it was when we were kids," said Emmeryn. "Frederick brought it up. We're planning on going down when we have a free weekend to clean it up."

"I guess it'd be nice to get away from the city for a bit," said Chrom. "But I don't think I'll bring it up for a while. We still have a couple months until summer and it was only yesterday that we became a couple."

"On a happier note," said Lissa. "You're birthday is next Friday! What would you like? Anything you want?"

"Nothing in particular," said Chrom.

"Are you spending the day with Robin?" asked Emmeryn.

"Hopefully," said Chrom with a wide grin.

* * *

Priam scratched his stubbly chin. He crossed his arms and stared down at the map with sweets as game pieces. His eyes narrowed and his brows creased.

Robin watched him. She lowered her head and she joined him in studying her proposed strategy. But unlike usual, where she'd drop her gaze out of anxiety or nerves, she was composed.

Priam's lips tugged into an amused smirk—she was confident of her plan.

Robin let out a small tired sigh as she stood up from her seat. She stretched out her body, wringing out the stiff knots that had formed over the hours of pouring over the map and the notes he had given her about their current position.

"I need the washroom. I've been sitting here all day," said Robin, walking past Priam.

"Are you going to explain this?" Priam called out after her.

"Yeah, just gimme a sec," she said. "I also have other suggestions too. But as part of our additional clause, after this is all figured out, I'm done."

"I keep my word," he said.

The kid was smart, which he knew, but she never demonstrated her true intelligence often. He wondered if medicine was boring to her. It seemed like an awful waste of her intelligence to have her memorize textbooks and pretend to give two shits about people who were probably going to return to the hospital at a later date anyway. Robin was evidently more suited for military strategy or maybe even politics…like her father.

Priam ran a hand through his hair and then shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. He felt the comforting presence of his metal lighter. What followed next was the itch for a cigarette. Without thinking twice, he went to his room to retrieve his pack of cigarettes from his jacket. As he checked one pocket and then the next, he thought to himself that he really needed to break the habit. But for now, he decided he'd scratch his itch. He fished out his pack of cigarettes and made a beeline to the balcony.

"You should quit," said Robin, standing in the doorway to her room.

"You should quit sleeping with the enemy," Priam mimicked her voice.

Robin rolled her eyes and went back to the living room. "At least I'm not killing myself by sleeping with the enemy."

Priam snorted. "Right now you're not. But who knows in the future."

"And haven't you heard?" asked Robin. "Keep your friends close. But your enemies closer."

This time, Priam smirked to himself as he slid open the door to the balcony. "Do what you want, brat." He closed the door behind himself.

Effortlessly, he lit the cigarette despite the wind blowing against him. He inhaled and the end of the cigarette burned cinder red. The smoke filled his lungs and he breathed it out through his nose. Priam leaned against the edge of the balcony and peered down at the busy downtown streets of Ylisstol. He sucked on the cigarette again.

It was normal here.

His thoughts were abruptly cut short when he heard a knocking behind him. Priam lazily turned around, finishing up what was left of his cigarette. Robin scowled at him while cradling Gold Digger in her arms. The pug had his limbs up in the air with a triple chin and a tongue sticking out of his mouth. He was in utter pampered bliss.

Angrily, she kept jabbing the air. With a frown, he followed her finger and saw a small glass bowl. Around it, there were several cigarettes, but not a single one in the bowl. He laughed. To spite her, he dropped his cigarette on the floor, which resulted in a muted, yet clearly frustrated scream on Robin's side of the window. Grinning, he brushed the butt aside, missing the bowl again.

It was just too much fun screwing with her.

Robin calmed down and smirked. She reached over to the lock. Priam's eyes widened and he lunged for the door, but it was too late. The click of the lock confirmed that he was locked outside. Irritably, he watched Robin cackle and shuffle around like she had broken legs with the poor pug bouncing in her arms.

She really needed dancing lessons. Maybe he shouldn't have taught those awful dance moves her as a joke when she was a kid. He never imagined this would be the consequence.

He shivered when the cool evening air breathed through the thin fabric of his clothes. While banging on the glass door, he yelled, "Open this fucking door, you little shit!"

Robin yelled back while angrily pointing to the corner of the balcony, "After you clean that shit up!"

Priam glanced over his shoulder and looked at the corner of garbage. His garbage. "I'll do it later."

"Do it now!" she hissed against the glass door, fogging it up with her breath.

"You're going to be such a naggy, bitch wife when you get married," he snapped as he gathered the cigarette butts with his slipper. "I feel bad for the son of a bitch who gets tricked into proposing to you."

"Who said I was going to get married?" she asked. "I'm going to do my damnedest to die alone, asshole. I'm going to have a thousand pugs and be a crazy pug lady!"

After Robin was satisfied with his cleaning job, she unlocked the door and backed away. Calmly, she walked over to the living room. Gritting his teeth from the cold, Priam stomped over to Robin and roughly bumped into her. She swore and nearly fell over.

"Oops," he said.

"What is your problem?" hissed Robin.

"You," he said. Priam grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up despite her protests. He guided her over to the map and its candy pieces and planted his hands on her shoulders. "You wanna explain your genius to me?"

"Suddenly, I don't feel like it," she said. Robin tried to move to escape, but Priam had a firm grip on her.

"Okay, if you want to go back home that badly, I'll let Validad know that you're ready to be married off to some strange man who's probably in his fifties and you can be his fourth or fifth wife. You probably won't compare to the tycoon's previous trophy wives," said Priam. "But wait. No man wants a woman with a smartass mouth and the body of a child. Ouch, little Grima."

Robin elbowed Priam in the gut. "You're horrible. You know that? And Father wouldn't marry me off to just any creep. He'd marry me off to the most influential creep, and unfortunately, he's the most influential person in Plegia right now. So there really aren't any contenders."

"He probably be furious that you're fraternizing with the po-po. And not just any po-po. Ylissean. His favorite," said Priam.

"Priam, it's not serious," she said.

"Sure. The day Gold Digger stops licking his balls, I'll believe you," said Priam.

"It's not though! I'm just…seeing where this goes," she murmured.

"Whatever, brat. Hurry up and explain your plan," he said. "I'm hungry and tired."

"You haven't done anything!" snapped Robin.

"What are you talking about? I had to put up with your stupidity all day! If you were really a genius, you should've taken an hour to figure this shit out. Not all day," said Priam.

"Fuck you," said Robin. "Like you could've done this alone."

"I'm sure I would've been fine," said Priam. He gave her a hard shove around the coffee table. "Go sit your pathetic ass down and explain your plan to me. This better work."

Glaring at him, she sat on her knees in front of him on the other side of the coffee table.

"You need to get them where they least expect you. Right here. This is where you start."

* * *

Chrom hadn't expected to meet Robin at all this weekend, but he didn't going to decline her invitation even if it was this late at night. He had an odd feeling they may be meeting up a lot in the evenings.

He made his way to Risen, the twenty-four hour cafe, and spotted Robin pacing around outside the entrance. She had her phone pressed up against her ear and almost looked upset.

"I don't care if they won't listen! I did what you asked of me. Whether you get them to follow orders or not isn't my responsibility," she snapped.

"Hey, Robin," he said from behind.

"Yes, I am coming home tonight. Stop asking me private questions," she said with an exasperated sigh punched in at the end of her statement.

Robin brought up a hand to massage her temples and then dropped her hand. He reached out for her hand to give it a squeeze to let her know he was here. And when he did, she jerked her hand away and immediately looked at him in alarm.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he spoke in a quiet voice. Chrom watched her relax and register that he wasn't some creep on the street.

"I'm hanging up," she said into the phone and ended the call. "I'm really sorry. I had no idea it was you." Robin closed the distance between them and embraced him.

"Everything alright?" he asked, returning her hug. As he breathed in, he could smell her scent—sweet and soothing.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just…family things," she said.

Chrom let her go as she wiggled out of his arms. She smiled at him as she grabbed his hand and interlaced her fingers with his. Robin pulled him in the cafe.

The warmth of the cafe welcomed them in. There was a faint smell of coffee in the air and it had a quiet atmosphere considering it was past ten in the evening.

"Thanks for coming out," said Robin, resting her head against his shoulder.

A small smile tugged at his lips. He released her hand and put an arm around her.

"You're not going to fall asleep, are you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Just tired." A heavy sigh came from her small frame and then, she straightened up. Her eyes wandered about the menu, checking her options.

Finally, she said, "I know what I want. You?"

"What are you having?"

"Chamomile." Robin covered her mouth as she yawned.

"Stress?" asked Chrom with a furrowed brow.

She offered him a tired smile. "What makes you say that?"

"Emm made me and Lissa drink it whenever we were feeling stressed or upset," he said. "She says it's good for insomnia, anxiety, digestive problems, and so on. I can't remember the rest."

"What do you want to drink? It's on me."

Caffeine was a bad idea this late at night. Whenever he drank coffee this late, he either couldn't sleep or had _very_ vivid dreams. And that was an understatement.

"Rooibos," he said.

"Okay."

Robin walked up to the counter, ordered their drinks, and paid for them. Afterwards, she grabbed Chrom's hand and they walked around to the end of the barista bar to wait for their drinks.

As they received their drinks, Robin said, "I'm so relieved they don't ask for names here."

Chrom laughed, his eyes crinkling at the statement. "Oh gods, I know what you mean." He knew exactly what she meant.

"What? You too?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "What's the worst they've messed up your name?" A wide grin bloomed on Robin's face.

He smiled back; her smiles were terribly contagious.

He followed behind her up the stairs to the second level. "Well, if you really want to know. They've spelled my name as K-R-U-M before and C-R-U-M-B. 'Chrome' was another way they wrote out my name. But I think the worst one was when the coffee shop near the station was really busy and wrote out my name as 'Cum'. I think they meant to write out C-R-U-M, but the R-U looked like a U. I still don't know to this day if they were pulling my leg or genuinely didn't know how to spell."

Robin stopped in her tracks and burst out laughing. She nearly fell over, her ponytail brushing over her shoulder as she gasped for air. "Oh god…I can't…breathe."

Chrom couldn't help but join in and he chuckled with her with an embarrassed blush. "Do you think you're going to make it to the top of the stairs?" he asked.

Robin leaned against the railing as she continued to silently laugh and struggle to squeeze in gasps of breath. She shook her head.

It was his first time seeing her laugh this hard. He didn't think she had it in her to laugh this much. Usually, she was composed and only offered him little giggles or shy smiles. He swore he heard a snort.

"Do you need me to carry you up?" he asked, laughing with her.

This time, Robin waved her free hand. Slowly, she calmed down, but the traces of her gleeful outburst were still on her face.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry about that," she said, swiping at her eyes. "I can't believe that they…wow."

Chrom shook his head. "No, don't apologize for laughing, I like hearing you laugh. Wait, are you crying?"

"A little. I laughed a little too hard. Oh gods, wow. I think the worst they ever messed up my name was spelling my name with a Y instead of an I," she said. "You win."

"Thanks," he said slowly. "For some reason, I don't feel proud about winning."

"Come on, I should sit down before you say another hilarious thing," said Robin, climbing up the stairs.

When they finally reached the second floor, she took a hold of his hand again and she tugged.

"What is it?" he asked, leaning in.

Robin stood on the tip of her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. I needed that"

Chrom felt a flutter in his chest and heat rise to his cheeks. She was just too adorable. He watched her shuffle off to grab a table and sat down. He sat down in the seat across from her.

"I'm sorry I wasn't really good with responding to your texts today," said Robin, apologetically pursing her lips.

"It's okay. You must've been pretty busy," he said. "What were you up to?"

She hummed in deep thought before answering his question. "Chess."

Both of his eyebrows raised. "You play?"

"Sort of," she said sheepishly, staring at her cup. "I had a meeting and someone challenged me to a game."

"Did you win?" he asked.

Robin picked up her head. He felt an electric shock the moment their eyes met. He swallowed. He couldn't put a finger on the look he was giving her.

The ends of her lips curved ever-so-slightly and she said, "It's to be continued."

"Oh, cool," he said.

"What about you?" she asked. "How was your day?"

"I had dinner with my sisters. They're dying to meet you," he said.

"They know about me already?" she said.

"Lissa's friends with Maribelle," he said.

"Phila," muttered Robin.

"Yeah."

Robin shrugged and sipped her tea. "Eh, if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be your girlfriend."

"Wait, really?" he asked.

"Yeah. Remember when we went to go watch that really bad movie? Phila kinda planned that," she said.

"I should thank her when I see her then," said Chrom. "Actually, if I'm honest, my sisters knew about you before we started dating."

Robin blinked.

"I might've mentioned you a couple times," said Chrom with a nervous chuckle. "The Shepherds and such."

"Oh," said Robin, chuckling. "So, about next Friday."

"Yeah?" he said. Chrom waited in hopeful anticipation.

"I'm sorry but I have something on that day that I can't miss," said Robin.

"Oh."

Disappointment invaded Chrom's optimistic thoughts about next Friday. He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what her reason was.

"But I'm free all weekend," she said in a rush. "And I'll make sure to get your birthday cake and gift to you on Friday."

He didn't want a cake or a gift from Robin if it meant that he couldn't spend at least some time with her.

"You're busy all day?" he asked.

Robin bit her lip and nodded. "Work until five, hopefully with no emergencies. And then I'm booked for the evening. Unless you're okay with me showing up at your house at like eleven PM at night, which I know is frowned on by Ylisseans."

"That's the older generation," he said. "They have issues with unmarried couples living together, but honestly, it's not a huge deal. So, what's on Friday?"

"My father is coming to town," she said quietly.

"From Plegia?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"That's a legitimate reason to miss my birthday," said Chrom. "It's okay. Stop looking so sad. I'm fine. We'll make it up on the weekend."

Robin relaxed and gave him a genuine smile. She nodded.

"Are you excited to see your father?" he asked.

Robin shrugged and brought her cup up to her lips. "I don't know."

He frowned with concern and got the feeling that they weren't on best of terms. "Well, if you finish dinner early, feel free to drop by."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Of course."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

I want to say thank you to the guest reviewers. I respond to reviews 99% of the time, but I can't respond to guest reviewers. So, thank you, I appreciate you a lot. If you're too shy to leave a review, send me a personal message or something. I'm dying to rant about fanfics and Fire Emblem with everyone. I can see that people around the world are reading Pursuit, and I'm deeply touched. Even if English is your second or third language, please don't be shy if you think your English isn't perfect. Say 'hi'. Even though English is my primary language, it's also my second language too!

On a more important note, I realized that Pursuit has content that technically isn't allowed on and it could be taken down if it's reported. After talking with another reader, I decided I'll leave for now, but in the case that happens, both Pursuit and Sunflower are also posted on Archive of Our Own.

Thank you, everyone. For the views, favorites, follows, and reviews. Thank you.


	23. By My Side (Part 3): Smile

**Chapter 23  
** **By My Side (Part 3):** **Smile**

Lon'qu grumbled under his breath as he studied the creased map with dots connected by dashed lines. This was ridiculous. He was a trained intelligence agent—the youngest to be qualified! Yet, here he was, standing atop Robin's bed trying to arrange glow-in-the-dark stars into specific constellations.

Robin peeked over her novel and watched him from the chair against the wall. It was painfully obvious that she was watching him. She hadn't turned a page in that novel for at least an hour. He stopped staring at the map, picked his head up, and scowled at her. She immediately hid behind her book. He muttered a couple Feroxi curses under his breath before returning to trying to figure out how to do the task he was given.

"Do you want some help?" she asked.

"No, I can manage, Miss," he said.

Robin unfolded her legs and stood up from the chair. She wedged her bookmark deep into the book and her fingers straightened out the tassel attached to it. She placed the book on the seat and walked over to him. She stared up at him as he towered over her from the bed.

Then, Robin sat on the edge of the bed and placed the bucket of stars in her lap. "Start from the center. That's what Grandpa did."

She unwrapped the package of sticky tack and pulled the corner. The white tack stretched out until Robin broke it off and rolled it into a small ball in between her fingers. She rustled through the bucket of stars as if she was looking for a specific one despite looking identical to one another. She fished out the special star and pressed the white ball on it, then offered it to Lon'qu.

He took it from her and stuck it in the estimated center of the ceiling. Robin busied herself preparing the rest of the glow-in-the-dark stars for him. He glanced at the map before sticking on the next one. After half an hour of teamwork and diligence, the ceiling began to resemble the map on the instruction sheet.

"Hey," she said.

"Yes, Miss Grima?" He frowned at the ceiling and then at the map. If he was doing this correct, he should be starting the nose of the Pegasus constellation next.

"Could I use your phone?" she asked.

He gave her his undivided attention and stared down at her. With her head bowed, eliminating the slim chance of eye contact, she gripped the bucket in her lap. He took his time picking out the words for his response. "What for, Miss?"

"So I can call someone," she said, handing him another star.

He took the star from her, but made no further movements.

"It's just one phone call to Grandpa," she said. Robin pleaded with her eyes. "I won't tell anyone."

His lips drew into a tight, thin line.

She had shown some improvement in the last week. She ate a little more and actually got out of bed, instead of moping all day. But much hadn't changed when night fell. She still cried out from her night terrors and her panic attacks were still vicious.

He wondered if one phone call could make a difference. He understood why her father couldn't come visit her, since he was the president of Plegia. But what of her mother? Why wasn't she here? Did the Grima girl not have a mother?

He didn't expect a straight answer. Heck, he expected her to straight out ignore him. "Miss Grima, did your grandfather raise you?" he asked.

"Yeah, after my mother passed," she said. Robin shrugged like she was trying to brush off such a loss.

Lon'qu returned to the Pegasus constellation. To be fair, no one had outright told him she wasn't allowed to use his phone nor contact her grandfather. In fact, no one really told him anything, and at this point, he knew he was underqualified for this job. He did have his Plegian bodyguard license, but that training didn't include taking care of a mentally unstable girl. Robin needed more than him and the temporary nurse they paid to keep an eye out on her. But from the looks of it, the hospital they were in was small and severely underfunded.

He stole a glance down at the girl bent over in dejection. Or maybe that's how she always sat.

Robin wouldn't tell anyone. He knew that. It'd be disadvantageous for her to tattle on him. His phone wasn't being tracked either. He checked. But Lon'qu didn't have the ability to judge how her grandfather would react. And the question still remained.

Would this make a difference?

Perhaps it was worth a shot. From what he could deduce, Robin had nothing to lose.

Finally, he spoke, "Sure."

Immediately, Robin perked up with wide eyes, her mouth agape. She dumbly blinked at him for a couple moments before regaining her depressing composure.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, Miss Grima. As long as we can keep this between us," he said.

"I promise," she said earnestly. "Not a word."

"I'll go get my phone." Lon'qu needed a break from this glow-in-the-dark stars nonsense anyway. He climbed down from the bed and went to fetch his phone.

When he returned, he saw Robin fidgeting on the bed. He walked over to her and offered the phone to her. Her eyes were fixed on the phone, but she didn't move. Then, slowly, she took the phone from his outstretched hand.

"Thank you."

He grunted and went to take the seat that Robin had been sitting in earlier. He picked up the book and set it on the window sill before sitting down.

Robin struggled onto the bed and settled in the middle with her legs crossed. She flipped the cell phone open and pressed each number slowly. Once she hit dial, she held the phone against her ear. Lon'qu watched the creases on her face deepen as the rings continued, and he wondered if she would cry if her grandfather didn't pick up.

"Hello?"

Robin gasped. "Grandpa!" she exclaimed into the phone. She gripped the phone with both hands, clinging desperately to the connection. She sniffled and took a couple moments to breathe.

"I'm fine," she choked out, wiping away her tears. "I'm in Sable. Yeah." Robin nodded. "No, you can't come see me. Father would be blind with fury."

Lon'qu listened to Robin's sniffling and the muffled sounds of the man on the other end. But then Robin did the unexpected.

She smiled and choked out a giggle.

Robin almost appeared normal, even in her large patient gown and off-putting haircut. Her smile lingered a little longer before it was overtaken by her daily struggles again.

"Yes, I do miss Betsie, Grandpa. Yes, I'm eating," said Robin.

Lie. She did eat, but not nearly enough.

"Yup, I'm doing okay," she said.

Another lie.

"No, I don't think you should visit, Grandpa. I just wanted to hear your voice. I don't want to cause problems. You know I'm not even supposed to call you," she said in a low voice. Robin's eyes shifted over to Lon'qu. "Okay, I love you too. I don't know when I'll call next. Bye."

Lon'qu's chest felt heavy. Neither Robin nor her grandfather hung up. They waited the other to hang up first. Then, Robin closed the cell phone.

"Thank you. I really appreciate this. A lot."

* * *

Lon'qu opened the door and stood on the spot in silence. Robin put down her book and looked over. Usually, Lon'qu would've let whoever knocked on the door to come in, but he hadn't moved.

"Who is it?" she asked. "Is it Isabel?"

"No, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu, hesitantly letting in the person and closed the door behind him.

Her eyes were wide with surprise, but were soon rimmed with tears. She threw off the blanket with a burst of energy and ran over to the visitor, stumbling on the way. Her flung herself at the visitor and sobbed.

He put down the case in his hand and held Robin tight in his arms. He stroked her head. "I'm here, Robin. I'm here."

Lon'qu shuffled away to not disturb the reunion.

When they were finished sobbing in each other's embrace, Robin pulled the visitor over to couch and sat him down. Lon'qu apprehensively watched the older man with gray hair take a seat. The older gentleman removed his hat and adjusted his glasses.

"Do you want anything to drink, Grandpa?" asked Robin.

"A glass of water," he said.

Robin looked to Lon'qu expectantly. He narrowed his eyes at her, but nevertheless, went to fulfill the request.

"You said you were doing fine," he said, frowning at Robin with concern punctuated in each words.

"Here you go, sir," said Lon'qu, returning with a plastic cup of water.

"Thank you, son," he said, taking the cup and putting it down on the coffee table. The old man got up from his seat with a strained groan and offered a hand. Lon'qu shook it and felt his firm grip. "I'm Lawrence Falk, Robin's grandfather."

"Lon'qu Sun, sir," he said.

Lawrence nodded and sat back down. His large wrinkly hands cupped his granddaughter's face. "What happened to you? Why are you so thin? Why are you in the hospital? Priam and Aversa wouldn't tell me anything. The only thing I could squeeze out of Priam was the hospital address."

"Grandpa, I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it," she said.

"No one wants to talk about what happened," grumbled Lawrence. He looked over at Lon'qu, then to Robin. "Are you getting the care you need?"

"Grandpa, stop fussing," she said. "It's just stress."

"I don't think this hospital is equipped to provide the best care for you. Shouldn't you be in Goetia at a better hospital?" asked Lawrence.

"Grandpa."

"Would you like me to send you to Rosanne or Ylisse until you get better? I can pay for it. We both know Plegia's healthcare is an embarrassment, even if we pooled all the money in Plegia to fix it," said Lawrence.

"Grandpa. I'll be okay. I'm getting better."

"Robin, don't be stubborn," said Lawrence. "Sweetheart, and what on earth did you do to your beautiful hair?"

"Grandpa, please stop."

Lawrence withdrew his hands from her face as if she had struck him.

"I'm sorry," said Robin, her voice cracking. A couple tears escaped and left wet trails on her cheeks. "Please don't be upset. I'm sorry. Please don't leave."

Her grandfather gave her a gentle smile as he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. "Never," he said, wiping away her tears. "Never, my dear child."

Lawrence looked over to Lon'qu. "Lonk, right? Why don't you go for a walk? I'll look after Robin."

"It's Lon'qu, sir," he said.

"That's what I said," said Lawrence. "Lonk."

"I can't leave Miss Grima unattended," said Lon'qu.

"I'll lock the door behind you. I won't kidnap her, if that's what you're concerned about. I would _never_ put my granddaughter in harm's way," said Lawrence. Then, his face darkened. "Validar hired you specifically, didn't he?"

"Don't worry, Grandpa, he can be trusted," said Robin, placing a hand on top of her grandfather's.

"I don't care if he can be trusted or not. Your father won't keep me from seeing you," huffed Lawrence. "Whether Lonk—"

"It's Lon'qu, sir," interjected Lon'qu.

"—tattles like a coward or not!"

"He won't," said Robin with a small shake of her head.

"Do you really think a old man and a little girl can escape from an able young man like yourself?" asked Lawrence.

"No, sir, but—," started Lon'qu, but was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"Then, we'll be fine. Have some confidence in yourself, lad. Go pace down the hallway thirty times or a hundred," said Lawrence, waving his hand. "Now, go! Are you disrespecting an elderly man's wishes?"

Lon'qu's eye twitched. This old man was really pushing his buttons. First, he showed up unannounced. If his employer or Priam found out, he knew he'd be in trouble and it would even be more problematic for Robin. Secondly, he kept getting his name wrong. And now, he was telling him to stop doing his job.

"Could you please give us fifteen minutes?" asked Robin.

He now understood where the Grima girl got her bossiness from. "As you wish, Miss Grima. Fifteen minutes," he said. "I'll be close by. If you need anything, I'll be outside the door."

And with that, he was kicked out of the room.

Lon'qu constantly checked his watch during those fifteen minutes, and the moment the second hand hit the twelve of the fourteenth minute, he entered the room. He thought that the complete silence between them was odd, but now he understood.

On the coffee table was a board with elaborate game pieces. The board was far bigger than a eight-by-eight chess board. They were also red and blue, instead of the typical white and black. Lawrence and Robin were sitting on opposite sides of the board. The blue pieces were in front of the older man and the red pieces in front of the girl.

They sat in absolute silence, both with intense concentration.

Lawrence broke his concentration for a moment to look over at Lon'qu. "You're back."

"It has been fifteen minutes, sir," said Lon'qu.

"Take a seat," said Lawrence. "Have you ever played Fire Emblem?"

"Yes, sir," said Lon'qu. He had played a couple games with Basilio and Flavia before. They found out that strategy and tactics weren't his forte.

"Then you know the rules, I'm assuming," said Lawrence.

"Yes, sir," said Lon'qu.

"Have you picked our which pieces you want?" asked Lawrence.

"Almost. I think I almost have my eight," she said, studying the board.

She must've meant eight plus the lord that was a mandatory piece, thought Lon'qu. There was supposed to be a total of nine pieces.

"I know it's not exactly the same as the fancy boards they've designed for the modern Emblem games with the randomized obstacles," said Lawrence.

"It's fine, Grandpa. I don't like playing on the screen anyway. I like the old version," she said. Robin picked up her selected units and started to set them up on her end of the board.

Once they were done preparing, Lawrence waited for Robin's first move. The goal was to eliminate the opponent's lord.

Robin picked up her pegasus knight and held it suspended in the air. Her eyes flickered about the board. She then, put the piece back into its original position.

Lawrence frowned. Lon'qu knew why her grandfather looked displeased: she had broken a rule. Once you grabbed a piece, you had to follow through with your decision.

"I," said Robin, "can't see anything."

"Robin?"

"My strategies," she whispered. "I can't see them."

His worn hands gripped his knees.

"I'm sorry."

Before speaking, Lawrence took a sip of his water. "Robin, dear. It must be a slump." The girl didn't look up, but the old man continued, "You've played a lot of championships and you haven't participated in any for a while. It's probably a slump. Everyone goes through them. You'll be okay."

There was a sadness in Lawrence's smile that Lon'qu noticed. It was a familiar gesture, one that Yen'fay had made when his parents were killed. The sad smile that accompanied the reassuring words to Lon'qu that his parents were probably already recovering in a Plegian hospital. A sad smile that thinly veiled the truth, but was needed to provide a thread of hope to hold on before bracing for the worst.

Everyone knew. It wasn't a slump.

* * *

"Do you need anything, Miss Grima?" asked Lon'qu. It was the same question he asked her every night before he was going to sleep.

Robin shook her head while keeping her eyes on the open book she had yet to get past page one hundred thirty-seven. She anticipated his next statement.

"I'm going to head to bed," said Lon'qu.

There it was. He was going to say one more thing.

"Call me if you need anything, Miss," said Lon'qu.

Now, she followed through the rehearsed conversation with him. A nod and a quiet 'good night'. He disappeared from the corner of her view, and once she heard the click of his lamp, she sank back into her pillows and closed her eyes. Robin exhaled all the built up stress of the day. She was both physically and mentally exhausted.

A tired smile tugged at her lips as she recalled how her grandfather still smelled the same when he gave her bear hug: a bar of regular soap and his cologne. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Robin reached over to her bed side lamp and turned off the light, leaving her in complete darkness. She settled back into the bed, pulling her heavy blanket up her chest.

Again, she closed her eyes, hoping sleep would take her, but haunting thoughts pulled her out and hung her to dry. Robin went through her day in her head and the news of losing her ability to strategize made her chest tighten. Robin made an effort to inhale and exhale slowly, trying to calm her pounding heart. At first, the realization was numbing, but now that it was late and all her defenses were down, it hit her that she had lost a huge piece of her identity—her intelligence.

Robin clenched her teeth as she recalled the evidence that had accumulated over the last couple weeks that her mental capacities had deteriorated. She couldn't recall what she ate the day before. She couldn't remember the plot to the novel she was stuck on. She often found herself standing on the spot, trying to remember what she had been in the middle of.

She sniffled, hot tears leaking out of her eyes. She allowed herself to slowly exhale the breath she was holding, hoping that she wouldn't wake up Lon'qu. She opened her eyes and above her, she saw the stars she had hassled Lon'qu over. A smile bloomed on her face as she remembered Lon'qu's frustrated expression as he bitterly did as he was told. A choked giggle escaped and she immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. She stifled her laughter as she identified the constellations her grandfather had taught her.

The poor guy. He probably thought she was crazy. An eighteen-year-old demanding glow-in-the-dark stars to be arranged like the night sky.

Robin muffled her snickering with her blanket and the tears kept coming. She didn't know what had come over her, but right now, the glow-in-the-dark stars were the funniest thing she had seen in her life.

She couldn't remember why she had been upset in the first place.

* * *

Robin's head bobbed over her breakfast. Her fork fell out of her hand, clattering against the tray. She abruptly woke up murmuring something along the lines that she was awake.

"Did you not sleep well, Miss Grima?" asked Lon'qu.

"I…stars…all night," she mumbled, succumbing to sleep again.

"Could you repeat that, Miss?" asked Lon'qu.

"I was watching the stars all night," said Robin. When she yawned, Lon'qu saw her back molars. "And the sun came up."

A frown appeared on his face. She wasn't all there in the head.

But this wasn't the last time she gave him this specific answer. It became the answer that she gave him after stressful days or whenever Lawrence came to visit (to his endless frustration). At first he thought Robin didn't have all her marbles, but one day, he finally understood what she meant. On one of the weekends, it rained the entire time and she told him that she was "watching the stars". He clued in that she meant the glow-in-the-dark stars.

Over time, Robin grew calmer, and the occurrence of her panic attacks were seldom. She still had her days, but she other than that, she was quiet.

Priam visited when he could and tormented the girl. Aversa came at least once every two weeks and did Robin's hair or nails. Robin would purse her lips as Aversa either yanked at her hair or snapped at her not to move. Often, Aversa would ramble about Vivi, her cat, and Robin answered with the occasional nod. Turned out "Vivi" was a modification of Priam's suggestion, B.V., the initials for 'Broken Vibrator'.

Lon'qu had yet to see a parent come see her, but Lawrence made up that gap by visiting the most. He hadn't a single clue as to how he managed to avoid coming on the same day as Aversa or Priam. He had a suspicion that maybe all three visitors discussed their schedule, but he knew that that was highly unlikely.

Today, it was Lawrence who was visiting. The old man still called him "Lonk" and Lon'qu tried correcting him, but soon gave up. Lon'qu kept to himself in his area of the room, giving the two their space.

"Robin, are you sure you don't want me to move you to a better hospital?" asked Lawrence.

It was the same topic he brought up every visit. Lawrence had expressed his dissatisfaction for the small hospital in Sable. Lon'qu already predicted what Robin would say.

As if on cue, she answered, "Grandpa, please leave it be. I don't want you and Father fighting again. Besides, Isabel is doing a fine job."

Then, Lawrence would grumble a string of colourful words that he did nothing to censor and Robin wouldn't say anything.

"You're improving," said Lawrence.

There was a silence. Lon'qu imagined Robin nodding, her now shoulder-length hair brushing against her cheeks.

"When you can leave?"

"When Father allows it," she said.

Lon'qu heard a heavy sigh. "You'll be back in Goetia after?"

"Until the school year starts, yes," she said.

"I know I promised I wouldn't bring it up, but Robin, can you not tell me what happened?"

A long silence followed the question. Lon'qu tensed in anticipating for the sounds Robin's muffled sobs, or her feather-light footsteps, heading to her bed, followed by the rustling of her heavy bedsheets. Instead, she spoke.

"Grandpa, I've made a lot of progress. I'd like to try to live life normally, and that means for now, that I want to move on," Robin's voice was so quiet that Lon'qu had to really strain to hear.

* * *

Robin had gained weight in the last couple months, but her clothes were still loose on her body. Aversa would most likely drag her out to shop the moment she stepped foot into Goetia. Actually, Aversa would take her to a hair salon before they went shopping. Half of her was relieved she could leave her damned prison, but the other half was terrified of what was to come. The feeling of her pants slipping down her hips prompted her out of her thoughts. Robin hooked her fingers into the belt loops and pulled them up.

Robin heard Lon'qu from behind her. "Miss Grima, it's time to go."

"Okay," she said, her gaze never leaving the ocean outside her window.

"Miss," said Lon'qu.

Robin finally turned around to see Lon'qu waiting at the door. Based on the lack of luggage, she deduced that he had taken all the luggage down and loaded up the car during the time she was distracted. When she walked past him out the door, Lon'qu pressed himself against the wall, as if the possibility of physical contact was repulsing.

Outside, she saw a couple nurses glance over at her and whisper amongst themselves. A couple months ago, Robin would've felt self-conscious, but now, she didn't have the energy to care. Her rebuttal was a blank stare, and soon, the nurses quieted down and shuffled away.

"The elevators are down the hallway, Miss," said Lon'qu.

"I know. I'm not stupid," said Robin, leaving Lon'qu behind.

The two didn't exchange another word until they arrived in the parking lot. Robin appreciated his silence, but today, it was stifling. Lon'qu unlocked the car and opened the driver's seat, and prepared to hop in, but then stopped when he saw that Robin hadn't moved. She was gripping her arms and staring off again. Lon'qu walked around the car towards her. When he reached out to open the back seat door, Robin shuffled away to not get in the way. Lon'qu swung the door open and gestured to inside the car. The schooled sarcastic scowl he wore wasn't subtle at the least.

The last couple months of literally living together was enough to learn his subtle cues. He was better than most at concealing his body language, but he was still human. A human that didn't have the patience to put up with what he presumed to be dillydallying. So, in Robin's case, a lot of stuff she did.

Annoyance bubbled up inside of her. He thought she expected this kind of treatment.

"I can open the door myself," she said, frowning at Lon'qu and then slamming the door shut.

"You weren't getting in the car, so I assumed you needed assistance, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu, a furrow appearing on his brow.

"I was taking a moment to think," said Robin while opening the front passenger seat. She hated herself for not being able to multi-task. "We're taking a detour to the ocean before we leave."

"I have direct orders to bring you straight to Goetia, Miss," said Lon'qu.

"I'll only be a couple minutes," she said, taking her seat. Robin tried to close the door, but she was met with resistance. Lon'qu had a hand grasping the top of the door. She rewarded him with a glower.

"I have direct orders to bring you straight to Goetia," said Lon'qu. "Miss." He slapped on the formality at the end.

This was probably one of the last chances she had to visit the ocean. Her father never let her out of his grasp, and Goetia only had mountains and concrete to offer. Furthermore, once she moved back to Ylisse to finish her degree and complete her residency, she would never have the time to see the ocean. Ylisstol wasn't a coastal city either. The closest things to an ocean in Ylisstol were a couple rivers and lakes here and there.

Robin sighed and crossed her arms. "Lon'qu, humour me. Please. I was just released from the hospital. If they have issues with our arrival time, we'll blame it on traffic. It _is_ Friday."

"Ten minutes," said Lon'qu. "That's it."

Her 'thank you' was cut short by him closing the car door.

* * *

If Lon'qu hadn't known better, he would've thought Robin hated the beach and the ocean. The way she gingerly walked around every obstacle—shell, rock, and stick—on the beach. The way her feet would heavily sink into the sand and how she'd struggle with the next step. The way she winced when the wind blew too hard against her, making her hair whip against her face.

Lon'qu grumbled under his breath as sand wormed its way into his shoes. He didn't necessarily hate the beach nor the ocean, but he did have a pure hatred for how sand managed to weasel itself into every crevice imaginable. He hadn't even sat down on the beach, and he swore that he would find sand in his pockets later. Somehow.

The odd girl was a couple meters ahead of him, with her shoes in one hand, where each shoe was stuffed with a sock. Perhaps going barefoot would've been a good idea, but it was only for ten minutes. However, at the rate she was going at, she wouldn't even make it back to the car in ten minutes.

For late August, the beach was relatively empty, but it was only ten in the morning. The lack of human presence was made up by the seagulls perusing the sky. And it was still bloody hot. He removed his jacket, carefully folded it, and hung it over his arm. It was a good thing he didn't forget his sunglasses, or he would've been squinting the entire time.

Up ahead, Robin put down her shoes far back enough so that the tide that came into the lap the beach didn't take her shoes away. She stepped onto the darkened sand and stood there. The white waves gently washed over her feet. All he saw was the back of her light jeans with the hems folded up above her ankles and her white cotton blouse rippling with each breeze, but he could almost imagine a smile on her face. Almost. Curiosity got the better of him and he walked towards her, but kept his distance to avoid getting wet.

"I'm not going to try to drown myself," she said.

"I never said you were, Miss Grima."

"It sounds nice," she said. "When I was cooped up in that awful hospital like some deranged, crazy person, I imagined what the ocean might sound like. And it sounds nice."

He nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see his acknowledgment. More often than not, Lon'qu was alert around the girl, but at that very moment, he was relaxed. Maybe it was the sound of the waves. Maybe it was the seagulls. Or maybe it was that Robin was okay.

Robin took in a deep breath and then expelled it. She pivoted around on the balls of her feet. Each step she took in the wet sand, left a deep impression, but was soon softened away with the waves. Everything she did still was slow and measured, but she didn't look nearly as tired as before. She picked up her shoes and walked past him. He followed close behind.

"Are those prescriptioned?" asked Robin, turning her head over to him with a finger pointed to her eyes.

"No, Miss," he said.

"Oh. Then why do you wear glasses when you work on your computer if your eyes aren't bad?" she asked, slowing down to walk beside him.

"They're tinted so it prevents eyestrain from staring at the screen for too long, Miss," he said.

"Interesting," she said. "Do you think you'll need prescription glasses at some point?"

Why was she asking? Why did it matter if he needed glasses or not?

He checked his watch and realized they were forty minutes behind schedule. "I don't know."

"Okay, I'll stop bothering you," said Robin.

"You aren't bothering me, Miss." It was just they were late and he hated being late.

Once they reached the rocky area of the beach, she dropped her shoes down and sat down, once again facing the ocean. She took her sweet time, brushing the sand off her feet, slipping her socks on, and then her shoes.

She must've sensed his irritation because she said, "Relax, they're not going to care if we're late. There are so many excuses we could use. Like the hospital wanted to do some final check-ups, traffic, maybe there was an accident on the highway and it slowed us down, I had a panic attack in the car and you needed to pull over. Many. I don't like lying, nor am I very good at it, but making up excuses to get my father off my back is easy."

Robin stood up after she finished lacing up her sneakers. She straightened herself out and looked up at him with her head tilted to the side. "Don't look at me like that. Don't worry, I won't have a panic attack in the car. I was kidding, Lon'qu."

The ends of her lips curled up and her eyes crinkled in amusement. But before he could capture her rare smile into his memory, the wind blew her hair in her face again with the seagulls crying out around them.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

:l Memory lapses from stress/traumatic experiences SUCK.

I hope this chapter wasn't too depressing for everyone, especially since it is the holidays. 2016 is just around the corner! I hope you'll continue to enjoy Pursuit in the new year too. You guys are awesome. And for those who take the time to review and message me, thank you, it really warms my heart. I almost scrapped the story, but someone left a comment on my AO3 account the other day and I came to the conclusion that even if I only have ten people reading this near the end, I will do my utmost best to finish.

Happy Holidays!


	24. At the Seams

**Author's Notes:** Sorry I took so long! D: I kept flipping between posting a By My Side chapter and a normal chapter. I ended up writing quite a bit for both, but then stuck with a normal chapter. Then, my laptop keyboard died on me, so I had to wait until a new keyboard came in so I could type. :l

If there are any errors in this chapter. Please bear with me. I've been fixating on this chapter for several days now and I just wanted to post and be done with it. If you've been reading Pursuit for a while now (which I guess if you're reading Chapter 24, you have), you probably know that I have a decent grasp on grammar. (I hope). =_= Please overlook any proofreading mistakes. I really do try to write better every chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 24: At the Seams**

Priam saw Robin smile in the rearview mirror. She hummed and tapped on her phone screen. His eyes flicked back to the road in front and saw a yellow light. Everyone in front began to slow down, their brake lights flashing red. When the light turned red, one after the other, the cars in morning traffic came to a stop. Even though Priam still had a ways to go, he slammed on the brake.

The phone flew out of Robin's hand and she jerked forward. The car behind honked angrily at him. "What the hell, Priam?" Robin hissed.

"Terrible traffic." Priam shrugged and failed to hide the satisfaction of helping her get a bright start to her day. "I can't do anything about that."

She shot him a glare before bending down and picking up her phone again. "You did that on purpose," snapped Robin.

"You have no proof," said Priam. He was back to driving like a normal human being.

"But there was a motive," said Robin. She waved her phone as evidence. "Just leave me be. I did everything you wanted over the weekend. We bought a stupid gift for Father, which should've taken an hour, but it went longer because you were flirting with the employee there."

"Everyone loves beautiful things, little Grima. I can't help it. And she had a nice rack," said Priam.

Robin rolled her eyes and continued her rant, " _And_ I sat through your stupid lectures. Heck, I even helped you with the problem you guys are having. Just drop me off and go whore yourself out."

"Ha ha," said Priam.

The large, distinct hospital building came into view. He grimaced. He was never fond of hospitals. Then again, no one was. Only the tired, sick, and dying could be found there.

Robin spoke again when he turned into Ylisstol General Hospital. "Hey, Priam."

"What, brat?"

"You need to get the Grima escort and her friend out. Okay?" said Robin.

"You can't help every single poor soul you come across, brat," said Priam, parking the car near the sidewalk. It annoyed him to no end that she was too soft underneath her reserved demeanour. Her stubbornness balanced out that vulnerable quality poorly, which often put her in the position of getting hurt.

"No, you need to get her out for tactical reasons," said Robin. "Please." Their conversation was cut short by Robin's pager going off in her bag. "I need to go." She left the car and slammed the door shut.

Robin scurried off to address whatever she was being called for. He let out a long, impatient sigh through his nose after she left his sight. He'd have to make some phone calls today in addition to figuring out the legal logistics for the family franchise, Amelie's. But he wasn't too worried about the legalities of the bakery franchise. He set up a good legal team during the years Robin was depriving herself of sleep in medical school.

He'd call Vincent and see if he could relocate the no longer useful Grima escorts. As it weighed on his mind that he had more work to do than he wanted, he bitterly thought, why couldn't anyone do their job right the first time?

* * *

The resident kept speaking to her about what had happened mere minutes ago, but Robin couldn't hear him. Silently, she stood inside the patient room. She made a beeline straight to the patient room as soon as the pager went off. The medical team had tried to resuscitate the patient but to no avail and were preparing to move the body to the morgue for an autopsy.

Jazlyn Blythe, the Grima escort Robin had treated, looked peaceful, like she was only asleep. The hair peaked out of the bandages wrapped around her head reflected the morning sun, giving her plain blonde hair a golden sheen. Her facial features were innocuous and peaceful, as if she was enjoying a pleasant dream—the dream where she wasn't an escort in the big city, but a successful actress on the silver screen.

Robin felt sick.

"Dr. Grima."

The staff were removing the wires connected to the girl. First the IV drip, then the heart monitor. They all wore morose expressions, but looked sick and tired of this whole death business. It was an unmistakable sign of burn out. They worked in a damned hospital. People died all the time. How was Jazlyn Blythe any different from any of the other patients that had passed away? Why was this girl any different from her other lost patients?

"Dr. Grima."

Robin hated this part of the job. No matter how much she wanted to distance herself from her patients, she cared too much. Rationally, she _knew_ it wasn't her fault. But emotions would rampage and she'd wonder why she couldn't do more.

She wasn't suited for this profession. She didn't want the weight of a human being's life on her shoulders. She wanted to run.

"Dr. Grima, are you okay?"

A sharp gasp of air resounded in the room. The other staff in the room glanced over at her but then resumed their duties. She had been holding her breath the entire time.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" the resident asked, digging into the deep pockets of his white coat.

"No," she said curtly. She had froze in her self-pitying thoughts for too long. She had to snap out of it and be professional. "What happened?" she asked.

The resident's eyes guiltily met her eyes. He tried to decipher if Robin had asked herself or him. Then, he spoke, "She just died."

"Wasn't she monitored through the nurses' station? They get the signal of her heartbeat through the computer. It can't go unnoticed just like that _,_ " said Robin.

"It's weird, but her heart rate is still going on the computer at the nurses' station," said the resident.

Robin's brows knitted into one another. She stepped out of the room and checked up and down the hallway, looking for the patient's friend, Melanie. She was nowhere to be seen.

"We think there might've been a glitch," said the resident uncertainly.

"Where's the patient's friend?" asked Robin.

"Umm…"

"There was someone with Miss Blythe. Where is she?" demanded Robin.

"I haven't seen anyone in the last couple hours," said the resident.

The dark circles underneath the resident's eyes were hard to miss. Seeing his disheveled state, he was on the night shift. Sympathy calmed Robin down as she recalled her own experiences being on the night shift during her residency. Everything that could go wrong, often went wrong. It was like ailments rebelled without the stern alertness of nurses and doctors during the day.

"Let me know when the autopsy comes out," said Robin. Without another word, she walked away to do her rounds. She was already behind schedule.

A heavy feeling of unease weighed at the back of Robin's mind. She couldn't protect her. This was on her. She carried the name of the criminal organization that did this to people.

* * *

Vaike thrummed his hands against the steering wheel as he and Chrom waited for the red light to turn green. Voices with a layer of static were being played on the radio. Their comrades announced different codes for the situation around Ylisstol. Considering that it was relatively sparse this morning, Chrom would've concluded that it was going to be a peaceful Monday if it weren't for the chilling news they had received. A dead body, well, pieces of one had been found in the sewers.

"So, Chrom," said Vaike. "How was your weekend?"

Chrom hummed, his frown prominent on his face, deep in thought. The news of a dead body was disturbing, and he didn't have enough information to piece things together. It made him antsy.

"Is that a nay or yay?" asked Vaike.

"Sorry, what?" Chrom snapped out of his thoughts to look over to Vaike.

"Morning traffic sucks." Vaike yawned. "I asked how your weekend was."

"Good," said Chrom.

"Did you and your special lady spend some time?" asked Vaike with a teasing smirk.

"No, she was busy. We briefly saw each other on Saturday evening," said Chrom.

Vaike hooted before he inched forward as the car in front moved.

"We had tea," said Chrom, dispelling any potential misunderstanding.

"Oh. Lame," said Vaike. "You guys sound like an elderly couple. Tea?"

"Aren't you bothered at all?" asked Chrom.

Vaike shrugged. "Hell yeah, I am. It's not what I want to deal with first thing on a Monday morning. But if it means I can stop a serial killer, I'll do it."

Chrom nodded and sank back into his seat. He hoped there wasn't a serial killer on the loose. That would mean the number of bodies to be found would increase.

Once the cars started to dislodge on the jammed road, Vaike stepped on the accelerator.

"Remember, fifty kilometers an hour," warned Chrom, glancing over at the speedometer, which had the red needle at an estimated fifty-eight.

"Bro. Flow of traffic," said Vaike.

"We need to set an example for everyone," said Chrom.

"If you haven't noticed, everyone is driving super slow around us because we're in a police car, Chrom," said Vaike. "I think we're setting enough of an example."

* * *

For once, the food didn't look too bad, but Robin had had her share of food on plastic trays. Today, she really didn't want to eat the hospital cafeteria food. As more people filed into the cafeteria for the lunch break, the buzzing volume of small talk crescendoed. Usually, Robin was more than tolerant of the noise, but today, she wanted quiet. She grabbed the pack of carrots and celery sticks with ranch and stood up. The chair squeaked unpleasantly against the floor. With her other hand, she grabbed the plastic bottle of water and headed towards the exit.

Then, someone grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. Immediately, Robin ripped herself away from the person's grasp and whipped around to see who it was.

"Hey there, love bird," said Phila. She wore a cheerful smile and her periwinkle hair was neatly pulled back into a braided bun.

Robin relaxed. She thought it was someone else. She couldn't guess specifically who, but someone who could hurt her.

"Where are you going?" asked Phila. Then, her face fell. "Oh. I can tell just be looking at you. Alright. Let me grab a sandwich and we can go somewhere quiet."

Robin nodded and followed Phila to the end of the line. Phila chatted to her about her weekend and how Peggy, her silly cat, ripped up Raimi's shirt when Raimi stayed overnight. Once they got to the front, she ordered the lunch special with the sandwich and soup and paid for them.

"Okie dokie. To the roof?" asked Phila.

"Yeah, sure," said Robin.

* * *

"Oh, man. I don't think I can eat lunch after that," said Vaike. "I can't forget the image in my head." He opened the car window.

There was a nasty taste in Chrom's mouth as well. He gripped the steering wheel and concentrated on the road. It wasn't the greatest Monday he had.

"We have a seriously messed up person on our hands, Chrom," said Vaike in the passenger seat.

Grimly, Chrom nodded. Worry had settled into his gut as he thought about the safety of his sisters and Robin.

Robin.

He wanted to see her right now and hold her tight. He wanted to keep her safe. Chrom stopped letting his thoughts selfishly wander on the job. He decided that he would ask her to dinner. With that, he tried to focus once again.

"Let's run through the details, Vaike," said Chrom.

"Right now?" asked Vaike, staring at Chrom with an incredulous raised brow. "Don't you want to stomach what just happened?"

"We still have a ways to go to the station," said Chrom. "Might as well piece things together and bounce ideas."

"The parts were so swollen from the water…" Vaike trailed off.

"The hands didn't have fingertips," said Chrom. "I think it was on purpose."

"Fingerprints," said Vaike.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," said Chrom.

"I think we should wait for the forensics team do their work," said Vaike. "I think they still have to find half a leg. Seriously, let's let the forensics team do their thing. I heard they have a new girl who's supposedly really good."

"Yeah."

The rest of their drive was silent. The fresh memories of the crime scene were seared into his head, but as his Chrom's mind helplessly wandered back to Robin, he felt a little bit of comfort.

* * *

Robin and Phila walked down the wooden walkway that had been built on the rooftop. On the sides, there were benches and above, there was a glass shelter that came in handy when it rained. The sunlight streaked through the tinted glass, but it didn't feel as warm as Robin had hoped. She missed Plegia's heat today.

"Do you want to sit over there?" Phila asked, gesturing with her chin to the small table with chairs.

"Sure," said Robin, following behind Phila. Her steps lingered as she saw that they had added a garden this spring. Bright colours spotted the dark earth contained in concrete boxes.

"Hurry up!" called Phila. The hungry psychiatrist had already taken a seat.

"Coming," said Robin, picking up her pace. She pulled out her vegetable sticks and water bottle from each pocket and placed them on the table.

"If that's all you're going to eat, you're going to pass out. Remember med school in third year? And first year residency? You got stressed out, stopped eating, and passed out?" asked Phila in her disapproving motherly tone. "Do I need to go on?"

"I'll eat more later," said Robin. "And don't use anecdotal examples and apply them to everything." She rolled her eyes and took her seat.

Phila grinned. "Or you wouldn't listen to me. Ah!" Phila held up a finger when Robin was about to protest. "No arguing with the bestie. We're short on time. Spit it out. What happened?"

"One of my patients died."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Phila softly. She placed an open hand on the table. Robin picked up her hand from her lap and placed it in Phila's warm hand. Phila gave it a squeeze. "It happens, Robin. Did you make a mistake or did she just…?"

"I don't think I've made a mistake, but it feels like my fault. I have this awful feeling, Phila," said Robin. "Like something bad's going to happen."

"Robin, you always feel like that when someone dies," said Phila, offering her a reassuring smile. "You know it's not your fault."

Robin sighed and then chewed her bottom lip.

"It happens, Robin," said Phila. "Don't play the blame game by yourself. You're going to drive yourself crazy."

"Yeah," said Robin, opening her vegetable sticks.

"You say the same thing to me when one of my patients take a turn for the worst. You'd be a hypocrite to not take your own advice. Promise me. You're not going to play the blame game," said Phila sternly.

"I promise," mumbled Robin.

"I'm serious, Robin. You can't let this bring the rest of your week down. You get so exhausted doing that to yourself. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. So promise me you'll forget this and move onto your next patient," said Phila. "You're a human being too, no matter what patients think of you. You come first."

"I promise," Robin repeated herself louder. She withdrew her hand and picked up a celery stick. A harsh crunch erupted when she bit into it.

"Oh, I have a good idea. You could come play with Peggy after work. Wait, no. Even better. Go spend some time with Chrom," said Phila.

"I dunno," she said. "This is pretty dark stuff. I mean, the last thing I want to do is scare him away with my dark, mopey feelings," said Robin.

"If he can't handle you at your worst, which this"—Phila gestured to Robin with her hand—"doesn't even come close to. He doesn't deserve you at your best."

"Actually, Phila, I have a favour to ask you," said Robin.

"What is it?" Phila asked, her hand covering a mouthful of food.

"Can you get a copy of a photograph from the exhibition for me?" asked Robin.

"Sure, what for?" asked Phila.

"It's Chrom's birthday on Friday," said Robin.

"Birthday sex!" shouted Phila excitedly.

"You're unbearably embarrassing. You know that?" Robin groaned with a furious blush.

"Sorry, continue," said Phila. "Which one?"

"The field one," said Robin.

"I'll talk to Raimi about it," said Phila.

"Thanks. Let me know how much it is, so I can wire the money," said Robin. "Do you think they can deliver to his house?"

"Probably, I'll ask," said Phila.

"Thanks," said Robin.

"So, _do_ you have any plans for Friday?" asked Phila with a cheeky grin.

"No, my father is coming. He wants dinner on Friday," said Robin.

"Oh. Fun," said Phila. "You used five sicks days after he came last year."

"Yeah," murmured Robin. "I couldn't muster the energy to get out of bed."

Phila pursed her lips. "Hopefully, it'll be better this time?"

Robin shrugged, snapping the carrot stick in half between her teeth. "Hopefully." She knew she'd be exhausted nonetheless.

After lunch with Phila, Robin felt a smidgen better. She told Phila to go ahead so she could stay back and give Priam a call about the new situation. When Priam finally picked up after getting his voice mail three times, Robin had little patience for him. At the news of what happened, Priam didn't sound very concerned. He had the nerve to say it didn't matter despite what Robin had said about the issue before (that it could raise suspicions from the police). It was impossible to track any ties to the syndicate to them. They hadn't done anything, besides go to the Reeking Box, a popular club downtown. If that was a crime, then everyone who went clubbing at the Reeking Box was affiliated with the Grima Syndicate. In addition, escorts were legal in Ylisse. The contracts they had were signed under Vincent anyway. So all was fine.

"Don't you even care?" Robin yelled into her phone. Her knuckles were white from gripping the phone, but her face was flushed rouge from anger.

"I don't have the luxury to worry about every whore that dies, brat. People die all the time. You know that better than anyone. As a physician and as a Plegian who's seen the ugly side of the drug wars. If keeping you safe from harms' way means a hundred more dead escorts, so be it," said Priam. "Now are we done here? I'm busy."

Before Robin could chastise him on how wrong that statement was on so many levels, he hung up. The conversation left her feeling raw and angry. It was irresponsible to treat people like they were disposable. Her life wasn't worth more than another's. No mortal being had the right to decide that.

* * *

Chrom tapped a finger on top of his table absentmindedly. Although he was blankly staring at the wallpaper of Ylisstol Police Department on his computer screen, in his head, he kept seeing flashes of the dismembered body in the sewer. While the rest of the police station scurried about and conversed around him, he tried to recall the details again. Chrom leaned back into his seat and crossed his arms. The smell of the decomposition and sewage gripped his senses and he fought the urge to gag.

His eyes screwed shut. The poor victim.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a cup of steaming black coffee inching towards him. Chrom picked his head up and was greeted with the sight Sumia.

"I thought you might need some," she said quietly. "I heard you didn't eat lunch. Even Vaike skipped lunch today. If Vaike skipped lunch, then what you two saw must've been pretty bad, huh?"

Chrom reached out for the coffee and found a bit of comfort from the warmth of the mug. He dragged it towards him and blew on it before taking a drink. After a couple sips, the hot liquid trickled down his throat and warmed his insides.

"Are you doing okay?" asked Sumia.

"Yeah," said Chrom, forcing a grin.

Sumia's smile faltered.

"Seriously, I'm okay," said Chrom. "Don't worry about me. You know I hate it when you worry about me. You worry yourself sick."

Sumia giggled softly and cast her eyes down. Then, she looked up at him again. "You still haven't told me what flavour you want for your birthday cake."

"You don't have to trouble yourself," said Chrom, getting up from his seat. He needed to find Vaike and see how he was holding up. But also to see if they could figure out what happened. They needed to interview the people who found the body and pour over the details of the forensic report once it was done.

"No, I insist," said Sumia, leaning over the table with both hands planted on the surface.

"Why don't you just pick the most popular flavour in our department? That way everyone can enjoy it," said Chrom.

"Okay," murmured Sumia.

"I need to go find Vaike, I'll talk to you later," said Chrom, patting her shoulder reassuring, and then taking his leave.

Several of his colleagues nodded or said a small word of acknowledgment from behind their computer screens as Chrom walked past their desks. He nodded back. Vaike was most likely in the basement shooting range or the evidence and archives floor. Chrom made the decision to take the stairs instead of the elevator. He needed to move around.

He started with a quick pace down the stairs, but then slowed down, stepping on each and every step, rather than merely tapping on them with the balls of his feet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. There was a text from Robin. His body relaxed and the ends of his lips curled at the notification on his phone.

It could be worse. Robin could've still thought he was a creep. Chrom chuckled to himself. But instead, Robin was his girlfriend. The heartwarming thought was a nice break from the dark intense thoughts that had been plaguing his mind all day. He checked to see what Robin had sent him.

 **My Robin:** _Hope your day is going well_ _…_

He pursed his lips as he tried to think of what to text back. And was she trying to imply something with the '…'? She hadn't used them before. Was it intentional or was he overthinking this? Man, sometimes he hated texting. Maybe he was being over-sensitive with all that had happened so far today.

Just play it cool, he told himself.

He began to type on the phone. _I miss you_ _…_

Wait, that was coming on way too strong. He rapidly mashed the backspace with his thumb. Then, he stopped. Well, they were a thing now. It was probably okay to just go with it. So, he tried again.

 _I_ _'m having a bad day and it made me think of you_

Chrom paused. That sounded a lot worst. It was like he was implying that the victim's dismembered body parts reminded him of Robin. He couldn't send that.

* * *

When Robin's phone went off, her heart beat a little faster in anticipation. She hoped it was Chrom. Her day had been rough. Normally, she'd mope about issues on her own, or lean on Phila's shoulder. But today, she just wanted to forget everything and hang out with her dorky boyfriend. Albeit, he didn't respond quickly, but she knew he was busy. He seemed like the type to be all-in.

Robin pulled her phone out of the deep pocket of her white coat. She smiled so hard that the head nurse in the ER, Carol, asked her what was so endearing. Robin looked up from the screen. "I got a text from my boyfriend."

"Cute," grunted Carol.

"I know," said Robin.

"I hope it goes well," said Carol monotonously.

"You're so sweet, Carol," said Robin.

"What did he say?" asked Carol. She sounded and looked disinterested, but Robin knew Carol was probably one of the most genuine people in her life.

"He wants us to do dinner," said Robin.

"Cute," said Carol again.

Robin hummed, trying to compose a response. Going out for dinner would mean being surrounded by people and loud noises. And with Lon'qu gone, she was stuck eating takeout more often than she wanted with the man-whore. She seriously needed to start cooking more often at home before Priam's remarks on her weight became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Takeout was also starting to get boring.

* * *

It could've been worse, she thought to herself. It could've been colder, but with spring warming up Ylisstol, it was bearable to wait outside of the hospital for Chrom. He had been peculiarly insistent on picking her up from the hospital. Robin gathered her ponytail over her shoulder. She noticed how long her hair had grown; she was in a dire need of a haircut. Based on the length of her hair, she realized it had been a long time since she had visited Plegia. Aversa always took her for a haircut every summer to her hairdresser, Fabian, during her summer breaks from medical school.

Robin tittered as she remembered the snappy, sassy hairdresser. Fabian always bickered with Aversa's hair stylist. They often did that even with Robin. Fabian also always took the liberty to do whatever he pleased with her hair, but she ended up looking pretty decent. On one of the summers, Fabian bleached and dyed her hair moonlight silver like Aversa's hair for the photo shoot Aversa begged Robin to participate in. What surprised Robin more was that her father let Aversa have her way, and the Grima sisters ended up being in a spread in one of the most popular fashion magazines that summer.

The entire ordeal was awkward and Robin couldn't recall a time when she felt more out of place than in front of a photographer telling her to make love to the camera while she desperately wanted more layers on her body. She shuddered at the memory of the photo shoot. Lon'qu also came and he was stuck in a corner. For hours. When he did muster the courage to occasionally glance over at them to make sure Robin hadn't been kidnapped, he'd immediately look away with a scowl the moment their eyes met. All Robin remembered was that he probably hated his job more than usual that day.

She was pretty sure there were some terrible photos of her floating around on the internet too. The paparazzi managed to snap a couple photos. Aversa had to constantly remind her to look like today was the happiest day of her life. Because even if you're having a bad day, you can't have a bitchface in case they photograph that and spread shit about you, especially if you were a woman. Robin failed miserably. In the photos that did surface, her eyes were half-lidded and her mouth gaping open because she was in mid-sentence and mid-blink. Aversa, on the other hand, looked like a perfection that the gods created. Robin was so unphotogenic. She hoped that Chrom never came across the photos on the internet.

When a car pulled up in front of her, it drew her out of her trip down memory lane. The window on her side rolled down.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Chrom.

"Oh." Robin lightly laughed at herself and gathered her attention to the present. "Hey, Chrom." She opened the door and hopped in. "Nothing, just remembering something from a couple years ago."

"Yeah? Do you wanna share?" he asked while rolling the window back up.

She felt heat rise to her cheeks. "No, not really," she said.

"I'm good at keeping secrets," said Chrom.

"I'm sure you are," said Robin. Before he could pry any further, she changed the subject. "So, what do you want to do for dinner?"

"Safety first, Robin," said Chrom, reaching over to grab the seatbelt. As he pulled it across her and clicked it in place, she felt his warmth. When she breathed in trying to calm her jittery nerves, all she could smell his clean, comforting musk.

"I-I was getting to that," she whispered.

Their faces were mere inches apart. The proximity flustered them both, causing them to pause in the moment, losing themselves in each other. Abruptly, it came to a halting stop when someone rapped against Robin's window. They both jumped and looked out the window.

Robin rolled down the window. "H-Hey, Carol."

Carol stood there with a tired slouch. She was shouldering a large bag on her side.

"You shouldn't congest the drive-through," said Carol. "Move along, children."

"Right," said Robin, nodding self-consciously.

"We're sorry," said Chrom.

The older nurse's response was a long, cold, hard stare. Chrom offered a smile in an effort to thaw Carol's aloof demeanour, but it made no difference. He mouthed to Robin, 'help'.

"Do you need a ride?" asked Robin, looking back and forth between the two.

"No, my kids are picking me up. They're taking me out for dinner," said Carol.

"That's wonderful. You have to tell me how Beth and Hanson are doing tomorrow," said Robin.

"I will," said Carol, her face softening at the young surgeon. "You." Carol focused on Chrom again.

"Yes?" His voice cracked, causing Robin hold back a giggle.

"Be good to her," said Carol.

"Of course," said Chrom.

"Go, you two. You're blocking the way for other people," said Carol.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," said Robin with small wave of her hand.

"It was nice seeing you again," said Chrom. As they drove off, Chrom spoke again. "I'm pretty sure she hates me."

"Hate is _such_ a strong word," teased Robin. "I think she likes you."

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure she doesn't," said Chrom.

"Well, you did just lounge around in the ER waiting room that one time," said Robin. "Anywho, dinner. What do you want to do?"

"What do _you_ want to do? I don't really care where we go as long as we're together," said Chrom.

Robin blushed and dipped her head, hiding her smile. She really didn't want to eat out. "Hey, Chrom," she said.

"What?"

"Can you cook?" Robin asked.

"Uhh…define 'cook'," said Chrom.

"Umm…how would you define 'cook'?" asked Robin, puzzled.

" _I_ think I make edible food. But there was this one time when Vaike challenged me to a cook-off, and he got food poisoning. He also got explosive diarrhea," said Chrom.

Robin blinked at him in silence and nodded slowly, trying to convey that she understood his embarrassment, but she didn't. "I see. Umm…how exactly have you survived for this long?" she asked curiously.

"It was one time! And I know how to cook basics. It's edible and I think it tastes fine," said Chrom.

"Uh huh," said Robin.

"Would you like me to cook for you?" he asked eagerly.

"How about we cook together?" offered Robin out of the fear of her digestive system shutting down on her.

"There's no where you want to go?" asked Chrom.

She shook her head. "Not really. It's been a long, eventful day. I'd like to stay in somewhere quiet. If that's okay with you."

"Yeah, that's suits me pretty well actually," he said. "Luckily, I went grocery shopping yesterday, so we have a full fridge to work with. Can you cook?"

"More or less," said Robin. "And there's the internet as well. We can just look up a recipe."

"My place then?" asked Chrom.

"Yeah, sounds good."

* * *

After parking the car in the lot behind the small apartment building, Robin followed closely behind Chrom into the building. Her heels scuffed against the worn carpet that had been trodden on for years. Before they headed for the elevator down the hall, he stopped in front of the metal mail boxes.

"Just going to check the mail," said Chrom. He fiddled with his ring of keys and found the smallest key. Once he picked out that single key, he allowed the rest of the keys to dangle and chime on his ring. He unlocked the mailbox and pulled it open. "Nothing," he said, closing it again and locking it. "Okay, let's go."

Chrom offered his hand to Robin. She placed her hand in his and they intertwined their finger. Despite their eventfully negative days, they found comfort in each other's touch.

"I'm so relieved that I cleaned my place over the weekend," said Chrom, tugging her along down the hallway to the elevator. Robin giggled at his honesty. "How's Gold Digger?" asked Chrom.

"Good," said Robin. She watched him press the up button.

"So…how was your day?" asked Chrom.

"Good, I guess. You?" asked Robin.

"Fine," he said.

"What should we make for dinner?" asked Robin, leaning her head against him.

He let her hand go and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "There's chicken in the fridge, I think."

The elevator dinged and opened. They stepped inside to continue their conversation. Chrom saw their reflection in the mirrored walls, and a smile tugged at his lips. They looked good together.

"We could roast it and some vegetables?" suggested Robin.

"Sounds like a great idea," said Chrom.

"Can I rely on you to help me out?" She shot him a teasing grin. " Or should I be worried?"

Chrom chuckled, "I promise not to kill you with my food." He pressed the button for the third floor.

Once the elevator arrived on the third floor, Chrom gestured to the right and pulled her along. Their footsteps echoed in the long hallway.

"Can you text your address to me later?" asked Robin.

"Why?" he asked. He stopped in front of Unit 302. "We're here." He fished for his keys again.

"Because I'm getting your birthday gift delivered to your place," said Robin. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to see you this Friday for your birthday."

"Dinner with your dad, right?" asked Chrom. In a practiced motion, he unlocked the door and opened it. "After you."

Robin stepped into his place with curiosity in her steps. She slipped off her shoes and stepped into his apartment.

"You don't have to worry about getting me a birthday gift." He took of his shoes and placed it on the shoe rack that Lissa forced him to use after that one particular incident where she ran into his apartment and tripped over his shoes and broke her wrist. She was not pleased with him.

"I'm not going to even fight you on this," said Robin. "I've already put in an order and stuff."

Chrom pursed his lips and nodded. "Do I get a hint as to what it is?"

Robin turned around to face. "Of course not. That would ruin the surprise."

"Should I wait until you're with me to open the gift?" asked Chrom. "Some people like to see the reaction."

She shrugged. "Whatever suits you."

"So, this is the living room," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the minimalist open space. There was a black leather sofa pushed up against the wall, a black coffee table on top of a large rug, and a TV on a television stand with filled shelves on the opposite side. "I don't spend a lot of time at home."

"It's nice," said Robin.

"Thanks. My little sister went through an interior design phase and re-did my entire apartment. She managed to steal one of my cards," grumbled Chrom.

"Doesn't she need the PIN to use the card?" asked Robin, slipping off her coat.

"Apparently, it was easy to guess," said Chrom.

Robin laughed at him and folded her coat over her arm. To the left of the living room was an L-shaped kitchen. Wooden cupboards bordered the kitchen and a large fridge was placed near the large silver sink. In the little space between the living room and kitchen, there was a dining table for four.

"So, this is the kitchen," said Chrom, pointing to the kitchen.

"Well, I think there will be enough room for both of us," she said.

"And the bedroom and washroom are over there on the right. First door is the washroom, and the second door is the bedroom," said Chrom.

It was small, but it was quite a lovely place: it was cozy.

"So should we look up a recipe and see what we can do together?" asked Robin.

* * *

"Did you preheat the oven?" she asked while chopping the vegetables into chunks.

"Yup," said Chrom. "Do you think if we raised the temperature, it would cook faster?"

"Probably, but it might also burn the food, instead of giving it the proper time to cook," said Robin.

"The recipe says to massage the chicken the olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper generously," said Chrom, scrolling through the recipe on Robin's phone. "I have to massage the chicken."

Robin put down the knife and turned to him. "Chrom, just rub oil on your thighs."

Confusion clouded his face.

"The chicken thighs."

"Right. I knew what you were talking about," said Chrom.

"Do you need some help with rubbing down your chicken?" asked Robin.

"No, I just need to get olive oil from the cupboard," said Chrom, walking towards Robin.

As he came closer, Robin pressed against the edge of the counter. He reached over her head. "Watch your head."

Robin ducked her head and he opened the cupboard. He was really close to her. Her cheek was almost on his chest. She held her breath.

"Got it," he said. The cupboard door slammed shut. Chrom looked down and blushed. "I'm in your space."

But before he got out of her way again, he planted a kiss on her forehead, leaving both of them feeling warmer than the oven.

She turned her back to him shortly after he took a step back. "I'll massage the vegetables, I mean, I'll seasons the vegetables and I think we'll be good to go."

By the time the food was done, they were starving. Neither of them had lunch that day so they ended up wolfing down the oven-roasted chicken tights and vegetables. They realized that by the time they started talking, they were done eating. They ended up laughing and apologizing to each other about their table manners.

After dinner, Chrom told Robin to go pick a movie and that he'd clean up. It took some persuading on his part, but Robin went over to the TV stand and fingered through the movies neatly organized on the shelves.

* * *

Focusing on the movie was proving to be impossible with Robin sitting beside him. She had finally warmed up and cuddled up beside him, with her legs folded to the side. Chrom planted a kiss on her temple, asking for her attention. She responded with a shy, gentle peck on his cheek and for a moment, lingered with her forehead against his head. Then, she went back to watching the movie, but not before further snuggling into him.

"Hey, Robin," he said.

"Hmm?"

"Be safe, okay?" he said, resting his head on hers.

Robin straightened up to look at him, leaving Chrom's side. He missed her contact already.

She had a raised eyebrow, which transitioned into a concerned frown. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, shifting in her seat.

"Work," said Chrom. "Today wasn't the greatest day at work."

"Yeah, you mentioned that you weren't having a good day in your texts," said Robin. She turned the movie volume down with the remote. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really. I just want you close to me," said Chrom. "That's enough for me today."

A blush blossomed on Robin's face, which in turn made Chrom flush because he worried that he must've said something terribly corny. Robin took his hand in both of hers. "Tomorrow will be better." Hesitantly, like she was testing the waters, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

When she pulled away, he stopped her from escaping him any further. He grasped her hand with one hand and with the other arm, he snaked it around her waist and closed the space between them. Their foreheads were against each other's. The hot breaths that left their parted lips mingled. And the stress from earlier in his day faded away with every breath he inhaled of her soothing, sweet scent.

"Chrom." She spoke his name in a wispy, tantalizing whisper. It drew him in even more. A warmth built up in the pits of his stomach and his heart pounded in his chest. He knew he didn't know her for long nor truly know her on a deep level, but holding her in his arms felt right. He wondered how he managed without her all this time.

Robin felt tense in his embrace, but she didn't pull away. She needed this as much as he needed her, thought Chrom. Without another second to waste and before he lost his mind, his lips found their way home to her. She was slow to reciprocate his affections at first, but soon relaxed and returned his kiss with equal fervor.

Chrom's hand found its way to Robin's thigh. He guided her into his lap. Robin straddled him and ran her fingers through his blue locks.

She pulled away. "A patient of mine died today." The confession choked out of her, like she was begging for his forgiveness, like she was falling apart at the seams.

He caressed her cheek and whispered, "I'm sorry, Robin." He held her tight in case she slipped away from him again.

"I feel guilty," she said.

"It's not your fault," he whispered in her ear. Chrom began a trail of kisses down her jawline and then her neck. He paused. "We found a mutilated body in the sewers." Her hand rested on his cheek and she turned his face towards her. Empathy was all he could read from her. He sighed. "We'll find out who did it."

"Sometimes I hate my job." She spoke the statement like she was nursing a tender wound.

Chrom brushed his lips against hers. "Don't hate your job. You met me because of it."

Robin dryly chuckled and said, "Don't we know how to be romantic, huh? We're talking about dead bodies."

"Occupational hazard, I guess," he said. "But I feel better with you here." He pushed her ponytail aside to expose her neck again.

"Me too."

Her neck was soft and delicate beneath his lips. He felt the vibrations of the giggle deep in her throat. She inched away, trying to escape his touch, but he didn't let her. This time he nipped at her, causing her to squeak. He made a mental note that it was a sensitive spot.

"That tickles."

Her sultry laugh excited him and encouraged him to continue. Then, he lost it when he heard her moan for the first time in real life and not just in his dreams. It was muted and higher-pitched than her speaking voice. A desperate urge to take her then and there overcame him. He swallowed and struggled to ignore tightness down below.

An odd ringing sound sliced through their tension. They turned their heads to stare at Robin's bag.

"I should p-probably t-take that," said Robin, climbing off of Chrom and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Chrom nodded and offered the bag to Robin. Quietly, she thanked him and dug out her phone.

"H-Hello?" she answered. Immediately, she cleared her throat. "Hello?" Robin glanced at Chrom and turned around. She left his presence to take the call.

He waited for her to return and while he did, he crossed his legs and attempted to look as relaxed as possible. When she returned, they both had difficulty meeting each other's eyes.

"I have to go. He's getting separation anxiety," she grumbled.

"Who? Gold Digger?"

"No, my cousin."

"How old is your cousin again?"

"I don't know. Mid to late thirties? I don't keep track of that. I think he's a year of two older than my sister," said Robin.

"Ah," said Chrom. It was difficult to tell if Robin was kidding or serious. "It's dark out." Chrom pointed to the window. "Let me give you a ride." He got up from the couch and headed over to Robin.

She placed a hand on his chest, stopping him from grabbing his jacket and keys. "He insists on picking me up. I think he's in the area." A crease appeared on Chrom's forehead. "Can you give me your address?"

"Yeah, sure," said Chrom.

* * *

He was a man on a mission when she insisted that he didn't need to come downstairs. It took an enormous amount of coaxing to get Chrom to let her leave on her own. Luckily for Robin, Chrom's unit was on the side of the apartment that didn't face the road, so he couldn't watch her leave through the living room window. (That was actually one of his arguments.) He only stopped when she told him to zip it and kiss her goodbye with the promise of letting him know if she was ever out late by herself.

Despite the cold evening air, she was hot. She still felt his hands and lips on her. She could still feel his body against hers. Robin shifted from one foot to the other and adjusted the bag on her shoulder. Snap out of it, Robin scolded herself. She had to get it together.

There was no denying that a part of her was excited. She never had the freedom to be intimate with another man. Priam scared off every guy that made any advances on her when she was in Plegia, saying that all men were animals. Especially when they're young. And everyone else who didn't know otherwise assumed Lon'qu and Robin were a thing. But again, Priam nipped that in the bud when he noticed that she had developed feelings for Lon'qu.

Robin pouted and kicked her heel into the sidewalk. She wondered how Lon'qu was. The intense guilt she felt whenever she thought of Lon'qu had now become a throbbing in her chest. She deserved to be happy too. Besides, Lon'qu and her would never be possible even if she and Chrom didn't work out. So, why did it matter?

She sighed as she recalled the other emotion that also overwhelmed her when she was with Chrom—fear. She hoped he didn't notice how tense she got at his touch and kisses. Her body just wasn't used to it. Her sensitivity came as a surprise even to herself. Robin was afraid that he probably wanted more tonight. She didn't know if she was prepared for... Vigorously, she shook her head and a dizzying wave of anxiety and insecurity washed over her.

So many more thoughts raced in her head, but they came to halt when she heard a rude honk. Robin snapped her head up to see a black car in front of her. She walked over and hopped into the back.

"I'd prefer you come home before midnight or at least let me know where you are," said Priam icily.

"Okay," said Robin. She was too drained to argue.

"Why are you all mopey, brat?" he asked, slipping back into traffic. "Did he have a tiny dick?"

"Priam, seriously. I don't want to do this with you," she said.

A rare silence flooded the car. But it didn't last long.

"Little Grima, he didn't hurt you, did he?" asked Priam in a low voice.

"Priam, he didn't. I'm just tired," said Robin.

"No means no. If he's doing things that you don't like, punch him in the balls. I know you can do it. You did that to me that one time I had to babyshit your sorry nine-year-old ass because I wouldn't let you have dessert before dinner. Spoiled brat," grumbled Priam. Robin chuckled and he smirked.

"You don't have to give me the Talk," said Robin. "Once was bad enough and it's a memory I actively suppress."

"It's not my fault Lawrence told me to do it. It was awful for me too!" snapped Priam.

"All you told me was that if I had sex before marriage, no one would want to marry me! And if I had sex without the aims of procreating, my pussy"—Robin air-quoted the word—"would be infested with flesh-eating diseases. All I remember was crying. Can't you just use the word 'vagina'?"

"Okay, to be fair, I was just screwing with you and I hope you're happy, because Lawrence nearly took my hearing away by lecturing me to death," said Priam.

"I was _eight_ , you bastard!" shouted Robin. "And it confused the hell out of me because your dick didn't fall off even though on some days, you'd return with lipstick still on the collar of your shirt."

"Little Grima, if you still believe that having sex will make your pussy melt, I feel so bad for the patients who see you. Besides, I kept all the boys away," said Priam with a note of pride. "I think I did a great job."

"Go to hell," said Robin. "If it weren't for Aversa who stepped in and sorted everything out, elementary school would've been unbearable. Do you even understand how terrifying cooties can be at that age?"

Priam snorted. He lived to tease her.

"Robin," said Priam.

"What?" huffed Robin.

"I'm going to say this once. So listen carefully, because I hate repeating myself. Do what you want. Do what's comfortable for you. If your boyfriend isn't going to respect that, he doesn't deserve to have sex with you. Like I said. Men are animals. So whenever someone _is_ willing to have sex with us, it's a fucking privilege. Of course, I'm excluded in this because I'm a sex god," said Priam. "Women line up to be fucked by me."

Robin rolled her eyes and tapped a finger impatiently on the car door.

"This isn't me giving you permission to jump every guy now," said Priam.

"Piss off," said Robin.

"The last thing I need right now is defending your ass in court for sexual assaulting some stranger," said Priam. "No means no, Robin. It applies to women too."

"Are you done yet?"

"Brat, I'm giving you advice!"

"You can stop now."

"Nah. I think I'll continue."

"No. Please stop."

"If he refuses to use a condom because it doesn't feel good, tell him to try a size down. Do you know how to put on a condom, little Grima?"

"Yes! Yes, I know! Can we please stop talking about my sex life? And the size of Chrom's penis?"

"Wait, you have a sex life? That is the biggest surprise I have heard this year."

Robin cried out in frustration from the back passenger brat.

"I don't think you're trying hard enough to burst my eardrums," said Priam, sarcasm dripping in each word.

But as the two continued to squabble, Robin temporarily forgot about the her dead patient and her missing friend, the fact that she wasn't sure as to how Chrom would react to her hesitancy about sex, and that she had a dreaded dinner with her father that week.

"I'm just looking out for you. Especially with what happened."

Silence.

"I know. Thanks."

"If it smells bad in your bedroom it's because Gold Digger crapped in your closet."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Omfg. That fluff scene. Took me HOURS to write. I thought I was going to lose my mind. I was trying to rephrase things so I didn't use the same words over and over again. Man. Angst scenes are so much easier. =_= I wonder what that says about me as a person...

Anyways. Thank you for your support even in 2016! I hope I can make you smile or at the very least help you momentarily forget the stresses in life. That's more than enough for me.

Until next time.

(And I swear I'll get to Sunflower. I swear.)


	25. Thank You

**Author's Notes:** I have been MIA for a while because I had eye surgery to fix my crap eyesight. I have been banned from staring at screens for long periods of time until I'm fully recovered, which will take a couple months. In fact, my screen still looks blurry to me, lol. So...I ended up typing this up on my tiny phone when my mom wasn't looking. So please. **Leave a review if you enjoy Pursuit.** ;-; I wrote this out as fast as I could as soon as I was feeling better.

Thanks for waiting and for not giving up on me.

P.S. If the grammar or writing is sub-par...cut me some slack, lol. :P

* * *

 **Chapter 25 - Thank You**

"Lon-lon!" whined Ke'ri in exasperation. She punctuated her sentence with a teenage sigh to drive her point across in case her brother hadn't picked up how she was feeling.

"What?" asked Lon'qu, not bothering to look up from the pamphlets and paperwork Nurse Olivia had dropped off earlier.

"You look like you got test results telling you that you're pregnant," huffed Ke'ri. She crossed her arms and pursed her lips.

She hated how Lon'qu worried about her. Like any orphaned little sister, she loved seeing her busy brother, but not like this. He always freaked out whenever she had a surgery or medical procedure and insisted to be present by her side.

Of course, the equivalent of Lon'qu freaking out was being extremely short with people, losing sleep, and refusing to eat. It was usually hard to notice since he was always short with people and it was hard to catch him asleep, but she knew the signs. Lon'qu looked like a panda. And not a cute panda at that, but rather an angry, starved panda.

"Hmm?" he responded to her remark several seconds later.

Ke'ri got out of bed and stomped over to Lon'qu with a hand wheeling the heart monitor over to the other side of the room.

That got him to snap out of his obsession over the list of possible side effects on the waiver.

His face darkened and his brows slanted sharper than usual. "What do you think you're doing? You're sick. We don't want any complications," said Lon'qu.

"Lon-lon, I _walk_ to the washroom _all_ the time. This is no different," said Ke'ri trying to pry the clipboard of forms from Lon'qu.

Unlike usual, the older brother didn't even protest against his nickname. He hadn't in days—another sign he was losing his mind over her surgery and health.

"Go lie down!" scolded Lon'qu.

"It was just the flu! I'm better now!" Ke'ri attempted to match his ferocity but failed to do when she had to sniffle. She still had a bit of a runny nose.

Darn it.

"Go lie down."

"They just need need to do maintenance on the pacemaker, which was planned a while back," said Ke'ri, yanking at the clipboard again but Lon'qu was still stronger than her whether he was an angry panda or at full-health. She let it go. "That's all. You heard Olivia. It's not a huge deal. Gods, you worry-wart."

"I'm serious, Ke'ri. Go lie down."

She held out her hand in front of Lon'qu with the palm facing up.

"What?" asked Lon'qu. His frown deepened.

"Phone," said Ke'ri.

Lon'qu's lips pressed into a dangerously thin line. "What for?"

"I dropped mine in the toilet this morning," she said. "I want to play Jelly Crush. And you're not going to leave me alone to get me a new phone, so give me yours."

The stressed older brother did as she asked and took his phone from his pocket and slapped it into her open hand. "Go lie down now," he ordered.

Ke'ri's fingers wrapped around the phone. She saluted playfully. "Will do, Captain Serious."

To Lon'qu's utter dismay, she skipped back to her bed instead of carefully walking back. He watched her until she was settled under her sheets before going back to work.

Ke'ri already knew his password. She had peeked over his shoulder enough times to memorize it. Humming the theme song of Jelly Crush to herself, she downloaded the game onto Lon'qu's phone. But that wasn't the only reason why she snatched his phone. She needed someone to keep her brother company when she went under.

Dark brown eyes flicked up from the phone to the older brother to double=check he didn't suspect anything. Yup. He was still panicking over the surgery tomorrow.

She scrolled through his contacts and found her future sister-in-law's name: Robin Grima. A wide smile spread across her glossy pink lips (thanks to the makeup Robin sent).

"What are you smiling about?" asked Lon'qu.

"Just got a high score," said Ke'ri, tapping on Robin's contact and then the text icon.

Ke'ri gandered from the phone again and saw that he had _finally_ begun to work through the paperwork. Thank the gods, she thought. At the rate he was going, her surgery would be delayed.

Once she was done sending a couple texts to Robin, she decided to jazz up his phone a bit. The background was boring; it was the manufacturer's set background. She'd change that.

Ke'ri scrolled through his photos to see if there was anything interesting. Lots of boring background pictures...more boring building pictures...blurry pictures of odd-looking men…She was starting to wonder if Lon'qu was terrible with a camera. Then as she got closer to the end, she saw a picture with Lon'qu and a girl in a long ponytail. He had his usual scowl, but the girl smiled like she was teasing him for being too serious. It was obvious that this wasn't taken by Lon'qu. Ke'ri just knew based on the selfie angle and Lon'qu would never take a selfie. Did he even know how to take one?

"Hey, Lon-Lon?"

"Hmm?" asked Lon'qu, fixated on another booklet on caring for sick adolescents.

"What does Robin look like? Like how tall is she? What's her hair colour?" asked Ke'ri innocently. She hoped he was too stressed out to notice the nature of the problem.

"Comes to about my chest," said Lon'qu, not looking up from his work. "But a little taller than you."

"And?" asked Ke'ri.

"Dark brown hair but lighter than yours," Lon'qu said quickly so he could get back to stressing.

Ke'ri squinted at the photo and zoomed in. There was a faint scar on the girl's left cheek.

"Does she have any moles or scars?" asked Ke'ri, hoping that Lon'qu hadn't caught on yet.

Lon'qu was quiet. Ke'ri's heart began to pound in her chest and her heart monitor sped up as well. He looked up and saw her heart monitor. He got up from his seat with deep concern etched into his face.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

Stupid heart monitor!

"Just excited. I got a rare item. Never got this one before," she lied smoothly. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"Why are you asking about Robin?" asked Lon'qu.

"Because I want to know what my future sister-in-law looks like!" exclaimed Ke'ri.

"Ke'ri," growled Lon'qu. "I'm not in the mood for this."

Ke'ri knew he was all bark and no bite. Well, when it came to her anyway.

"Just humour me. I could die tomorrow," said Ke'ri dramatically.

"Do not joke about that," snapped Lon'qu.

"If you had to identify Robin if she suddenly died, let's say, how would you identify her based on her body marks? Because taller with lighter hair than me is so broad, Lon-lon," said Ke'ri.

Worry spread his agitated face. "She has a small scar on her right cheek," said Lon'qu very reluctantly. Evidently confused and annoyed with the questions, he answered them for the sole purpose of being a good older brother of a little girl going into surgery the next day.

Jackpot, thought Ke'ri. She couldn't contain her excitement.

He opened his mouth again but immediately closed it. He blushed and turned away.

There was more! Ke'ri had to know.

"And?" asked Ke'ri. "And?!"

Lon'qu spoke the next couple lines very quickly with a flaring blush. Ke'ri had to concentrate to catch everything. "Do not get the wrong idea. But she has a small mole on her upper right thigh and a mole on the back of her left shoulder."

Ke'ri squealed.

"I swear, Ke'ri. Once you're better, you are in so much trouble," snapped Lon'qu.

"Feed me all the brussel sprouts and cauliflower you want!" she shouted back triumphantly. "Wait, Lon-lon. I never knew you weren't a virgin."

"Ke'ri!"

But at this rate, it was too late to stop her teenaged mind to run rampant.

"You're not even denying it!" She accused him with a finger while giggling hysterically.

"I'm going for a walk," said Lon'qu, heading for the door.

"Does that mean I can get a boyfriend now?" asked Ke'ri.

"No boys! And no sex for you until you're fifty!"

"No fair!" she whined. "You said if they best you or Master Yen'fay in a one-on-one battle I could!"

Lon'qu slammed the door.

"Well, that went better than expected," said Ke'ri with a proud grin. She set the photo with Lon'qu and Robin as his background. Knowing her brother, he probably had no idea how to change it back.

Ke'ri snickered and thought, noob.

* * *

The air was thick with the smell of nauseating chemicals that Chrom knew he couldn't pronounce. An unfamiliar young woman slipped on a pair of latex gloves as he shivered in the cool autopsy room. She had short, blunt ginger hair and a set of wire-rimmed glasses resting on her nose. Her white coat had two pens tucked into her breast pocket.

"Where's Ed?" Vaike asked about their usual forensics guy.

"He retired last week," the woman said.

"And you are?" asked Vaike.

"The new medical examiner slash forensics specialist," she said.

"How should we address you?" Chrom elaborated.

"Yeah, what he said," said Vaike.

"Dr. Miriel Cole," she said, brushing past the two officers to the examination table.

On top was a blue sheet covering something lumpy underneath. Miriel pulled back the sheet and folded it with care along the way, revealing a pale, blue corpse.

Upon first look, Chrom could tell it had been cleaned thoroughly and all the pieces had been assembled accordingly. The young woman's naked corpse was still bloated from its time in the sewers.

"Jane Doe. Age twenty-four," said Miriel pacing around the victim.

Vaike turned his attention from the victim to Miriel. "How'd she die?"

"Blunt trauma to the head frontal bone," said Miriel, pointing to the computer screen opened to a program that modelled the victim's skull and her cause of death. "We suspect it was possibly a hammer. But there's also evidence of strangulation if you look at the end."

"Holy fuck," swore Vaike under his breath.

Miriel responded with a solemn silence. She folded back the rest of the sheet, revealing the rest of the body. She pointed at one of the numerous marks on the legs.

"Cigarette burns," she said.

"Potentially a victim of abuse?" Chrom thought out loud.

"After running some more tests, we determined time of death to be a month ago and dismemberment was prior to being dumped in the sewers," said Miriel.

She walked to the middle of the table. "Now if you look here." She pointed to one of the victim's hands. "Someone didn't want us checking fingerprints. See? They cut off the fingertips. They even pulled her teeth so we can't track her based on a dental record."

The two officers' faces grew even darker.

"What are those?" asked Vaike. He pointed to the ragged borders on the abdomen.

"Bite marks by rats," said Miriel. "They're on the lacerations on the legs too."

"Do you know what weapon might've been used for the lacerations?" asked Chrom.

"We suspect it to be a forked knife," said Miriel, adjusting her glasses. "You can see two close parallel cuts every couple cuts. The attacker dragged the knife vertically across her skin." Miriel traced her fingers over one pair of cuts on the shin.

"She was tortured," said Chrom quietly.

"Most likely," agreed Miriel.

"Are there any other details we should know about?" asked Vaike.

"Yes, there's one detail." Miriel pushed the upper body part to its side. "There's a tattoo here." Gently, she placed the body back in place. "We took a picture."

Miriel grabbed the manila envelope and slid out a set of pictures. She handed them to Vaike and Chrom leaned in to get a better look.

It was a close-up of a tattoo. The tattoo was composed of two prongs twisted together at the bottom. There were three eyes drawn on each prong. The purple colour of the tattoo had an added ominous vibe to it against the pale blue skin.

"Shit," said Vaike.

Chrom didn't say anything. The truth was, he couldn't say anything. Anger simmered up from deep inside and he had to calm his nerves before speaking again.

"Thank you, Dr. Cole," said Chrom. "We'll need a copy of the autopsy."

"Already made. Let me know if you need anything else," said Miriel, covering the body with the sheet again.

* * *

Robin reminded herself in the car that she needed to call Lon'qu that evening. She had received an SOS from Ke'ri about the situation and to not respond back to the text in case Lon'qu had his phone again and caught on. She set an alarm after calculating the time difference between Ylisse and Chon'sin.

"Brat, are you sleeping?" asked Priam as he turned out of the condo underground parking lot.

"Mmm?" hummed Robin. She put down her phone, closed her eyes, and leaned her head back.

"You look like shit," said Priam.

"You do wonders for a woman's self-esteem," said Robin without moving.

"Who said you were a woman? You're still the snot-nosed brat who burned a hole in my wallet one week a month over ice cream," said Priam.

"Pretty sure Grandpa reimbursed you every month," said Robin.

"Worried about Friday? Or is the boyfriend not giving you a break in bed?" asked Priam.

"Priam! What is wrong with you? Can you not be an asshole first thing in the morning?" she hissed.

"Hey, it could be a possibility," said Priam. He smirked and shrugged.

"The Grima escort died. The one you were supposed to move," said Robin.

"I know, you keep guilt-tripping me over it," said Priam.

"It just feels off. It feels like...I don't know...like something bad is going to happen," said Robin.

"Robin, I think the worst thing right now is your dinner with Validad," said Priam.

"Please stop calling my father that," groaned Robin while massaging her temples.

"Just pointing out the truth," said Priam. " Try to sleep at night. You need your energy. Especially if you can't keep up with Po-po in the sheets."

"Why are you so insufferable? You have the maturity of a teenaged boy!"

* * *

The blinds of Meeting Room 13 was were closed. The board at the front of the room was filled with pictures, locations, maps, and notes. On the table were piles upon piles of fat manila folders and empty coffee cups.

Kellam and Sully were discussing and jabbing at the board. Well, mostly Sully was stabbing at the board while having a heated on-sided debate. Kellam, on the other hand, remained calm and presented his facts.

Chrom walked in and placed the file he retrieved from forensics on top of the stack.

"What'd you find out?" asked Sully, snatching the folder.

"Dead Grima prostitute, I'm presuming," said Chrom. "Kellam, can you get Cordelia to do a cross-analysis with the missing persons cases? Maybe we can get a match. Whoever did this didn't want us the police to be able to find her identity. I'm not sure how much luck we'll have, but it's worth a shot."

"Right on it, Chrom," said Kellam before leaving.

Sully let out a whistle. "No fingertips and teeth. We've got a pro on our hands."

"I know," said Chrom, rubbing his chin in thought. "Did you and Virion organize the details on this case?"

Sully closed the folder and added it to one of the mountains. She shot Chrom a confident smile.

"We did some digging. And we found a trail of Grima Syndicate related crimes starting from the Plegian-Ylissean border. Now, Nosfer is notorious for gang wars and we think that Oasys is being smuggled in," said Sully, pointing a map of Plegia and Ylisse.

"Oasys?" asked Chrom.

"It's the latest drug on the market in Plegia," said Sully. "It's been in Plegia for a while, but it's only began to spring up in Ylisse. I'm not sure about other countries."

"Is it in Ylisstol?" asked Chrom, examining the red line snaking through red X's from Nosfer to Ylisstol.

"Yeah," said Sully. "It's a crystal blue powder you can smoke or inject. Injected, it has a higher potency."

"This was the unknown chemical in the bakery van from the explosion," said Chrom to himself.

"Yup. You catch on fast," said Sully.

"What are the effects?" asked Chrom, a prominent frown appearing on his face.

"Takes you back to a happier time, supposedly," said Sully. "It's a narcotic analgesic drug with hallucingenic effects. There are candy versions of it that you can stick under your tongue, popular with the teens and twenty-somethings. But not nearly as potent. What's really interesting with this one is that you can be taken in a lot of different forms but depending on the form, it's potency is different."

Chrom sighed. It was hard enough with cocaine and meth, and decriminalized marijuana, being dealt by the gangs. Now with Oasys, there was no denying a war was brewing. And in wars, always the innocent suffered the most.

He had to do something before it got out of hands. Chrom continued to study the board. If there was a new drug on the market and it was gaining enormous popularity, that meant competition. And competition meant bloodbaths between competitors.

"The bombing...it's not an internal struggle," said Chrom. He finished his speculation. "It's a territory war."

There was a knock on the door. Sully and Chrom turned around to see Vaike.

"We need to go to the hospital," said Vaike. "Melanie Blythe, the assault victim at the hospital...she's dead and there's a suspicion she was murdered since they haven't found evidence of malpractice."

* * *

Robin paced about in the basement of the hospital where all the bodies were housed. She bit at her fingernails and her eyes darted about. Her body shivered in the low temperature, but she didn't notice.

Overdose on barbiturates. That's what the report said. It wasn't a clot in a major blood vessel or a machine malfunction. It was an overdose on a drug.

This was on purpose. Libra had also came down to check the results. He gave Robin a hug when he saw how shaken up she was. He whispered a small prayer of Naga for her and the deceased patient before leaving to check on his other patients.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the folder splayed down, hand-written notes scribbled onto the paper. The sight of the report tortured her.

This was her fault. This was her fault. It was all her fault. If only her bloodline didn't exist. If only she could fix all of this.

She had hoped that it was an unfortunate outcome of the physical assault and surgery, but it wasn't. Her intuition was never wrong.

How much longer did she have?

"Robin? What are you doing here?"

Robin gasped and jumped. Her heart pounded in her chest and rang in her ears.

"C-Chrom?" she stuttered. He was the last person she wanted to see. She didn't want him to see her in her current state.

"What's wrong?" he asked, walking over towards her.

Robin took a step back. Concern pronounced itself on his handsome face.

"Hey, it's okay," said Chrom. He held out a hand and Robin took it. Slowly, he pulled her into him and held her.

"I...I failed her," said Robin. "She was killed under my watch."

"Shhhh. It's not your fault," whispered Chrom.

"Someone killed her. I'm scared, Chrom." She held back a cry.

"It's okay," said Chrom. "I'll keep you safe."

How much longer was she safe for though? When would she be forced to play her hand? To make a move? How much longer could she play innocent?

"Why are you here?" she whispered into his chest.

"Investigation. Why don't you go upstairs? Vaike might have some questions for you. Get something warm to drink. You're freezing," said Chrom. He kissed her forehead.

Robin tightened her arms around him. Someone died because of her family. Her cursed bloodline.

"I need to work and Maribelle is looking for you," said Chrom.

She nodded into his chest.

"We can do something fun later tonight?" suggested Chrom with a warm smile.

Robin went on the tip of her toes and kissed him. Just for a moment, she forgot why she had been flooded with guilt and fear.

"You're going to catch a cold," said Chrom, rubbing her white sleeves. "Don't worry. We'll catch who did this. This is my job after all. And I'm pretty good at it," said Chrom with a grin.

Robin nodded and tried to move on with the rest of her day.

* * *

It turned out Melanie had been poisoned to death with barbiturates and someone had rigged the heart monitor to let her slow death to go unnoticed. What really bothered him was that the victim happened to be a Grima prostitute as well. There was the same tattoo Chrom had seen earlier that day except there was a burn mark on top, like she was branded like cattle. It was a circle which encompassed three large dots inside. Cordelia couldn't find a match for the Jane Doe, but Melanie Blythe was enough to confirm his suspicions.

After a long meeting of debating the Grima case, Frederick sent the entire team of invested keeners home, which included Chrom.

On his drive home while he was stuck in traffic, he dialed Robin on his phone and put the call on the car speakers. It rang for quite a while before someone finally picked up.

"Hello?" answered a deep voice.

Chrom frowned and his grip on the steering wheel tightened.

"Who's this? Why are you answering Robin's phone?" demanded Chrom.

"Maybe because I live with her and her phone won't stop ringing?" said the man.

"What?" asked Chrom. Lived with her? If Chrom wasn't mistaken, the man who answered sounded amused. There a sick churning in his stomach. Then he tried to rationalize who it was rather than jumping to other conclusions.

It could be her co-worker, but why would she live with a co-worker? Possibly a friend? No, her gay roommate was halfway across the world.

Oh. Her cousin with separation anxiety.

"You must be her cousin," said Chrom. "How's it going?"

"Cousin?" A chuckle filled Chrom's car. "Yeah. I've known her since her mother was pregnant with her. You must be her new thing."

Robin's cousin called him a 'thing'. Already, he wasn't fond of this cousin. He decided to be polite. Emm would've wanted him to be polite.

"Yeah, I'm Chrom. Nice to meet you."

"Priam."

"Can I speak with Robin?"

"Oi, brat!"

There was a rustling sound and then cursing.

"What the hell is your problem? Don't use your fucking foot to wake me up! Do you even wash?"

"I wash more than you, you nasty sleep-deprived surgeon!"

Gold Digger barked in the background, adding to the kerfuffle.

"Your fuck buddy is calling you for a booty call!"

"No, I'm not!" shouted Chrom almost reflexively.

"Why do you have my phone, you insufferable dickwad?"

"Maybe it's because it wouldn't stop ringing and you were snoring away! And does Thing know that you have a potty mouth? How attractive."

"Stop making up lies! I don't snore!"

There was more sounds of a struggle until finally Robin answered.

"Hello?"

"Did I wake you?" asked Chrom with an apologetic smile.

"No, it's fine. I have to be up soon anyway," said Robin.

"You seemed really shaken up earlier today. I wanted to check on you," said Chrom.

"Oh," said Robin. "That's sweet of you." Chrom listened to her yawn into the phone.

"Have you eaten yet?" asked Chrom.

"No. I'm not feeling well," said Robin.

"Do you need me to go on a medicine run?" asked Chrom.

"I just need rest. How're you? I'm really sorry about how unprofessional I was earlier today," said Robin.

"It's quite okay. You were understandably upset," said Chrom. "My day was busy. I want to see you tonight."

"Mmm..." hummed Robin. "Sorry. Tonight doesn't work. I have plans."

"Oh," said Chrom. He hoped he hid his disappointment fast enough for Robin to not notice.

"Chrom?"

"What is it?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For caring. Sometimes I wonder what I did right to deserve you. You're too good for me," said Robin.

"Are you kidding me? It's the other way around, Robin!"

A soft giggle played on the speakers of his car. He blushed and felt squishy inside.

"You're headed home late," remarked Robin.

"Work," he said.

"Officer Knight is okay with this?" she asked.

"Nope. He kicked us out. All of us. Told us to play clubhouse elsewhere."

Again, Robin giggled. The sound of Robin melted away the stresses of his day.

"You know, we still don't have pet names for each other," said Chrom with a grin.

"Yeah," murmured Robin.

"Is there a name you prefer?" asked Chrom.

"I'm not very good at nicknames," said Robin. "Ow! Gold Digger! Don't bite me you stupid pug!"

"Everything okay?" asked Chrom.

"He nipped me," Robin tattled. "I'm fine. I just fed you this morning!"

The pug barked.

"You need to go on a diet. Look at how fat you've gotten," said Robin. The pug growled at her. "I'm going to grab your fat rolls all I want! Don't sass me! Chrom, I'm sorry. I need to go. Can nicknames wait?"

"Sure. I'll see you later...babe." Chrom tried out a pet name.

He was answered with silence.

"Okay...umm...let's try that again later?"

"You don't like 'babe'?" he asked.

She made a funny sound on the speaker. Chrom could hear her grimace.

"But I think you're a babe." His sentence died off. "Okay, maybe not 'babe'. But I'm not giving up!" exclaimed Chrom.

"I know. You don't know how to give up," said Robin.

"Okay. Bye, sweetie," said Chrom.

Again, silence.

"Bye...boo?"

The call ended right after her uncomfortable attempt.

Chrom chuckled as he shook his head. She was so shy sometimes. He wanted to spend every free minute with her to get to know everything about her. What made her happy and sad? What made her shy? What did she want in her future?

Was he part of her future?

* * *

Robin dropped her phone by her side and buried her face into her blanket. Gold Digger grabbed one end of the blanket and pulled.

"Stop that! You suck, Gold Digger!" shouted Robin, yanking her blanket away.

She scooped up the pug in her arms and scooted herself over to the edge of the bed. He wagged his tail and panted with a smile.

"Let's feed you." Robin sighed and got up out of bed. "He called me 'babe'," she whispered to the pug.

Gold Digger continued to wag his tail.

After Robin fed the pug and herself, she nagged at Priam to turn down his video game. This game was about stealing cars and beating hookers. When Robin thought she couldn't lose more faith in humanity, she did. Because of games like this probably made by people like Priam and teenaged boys.

She returned to her room and dug out her phone from her blanket. Then, she snuggled back into bed. As much as she would've loved to spend time with Chrom and go through the awkward ordeal of picking out embarrassing pet names for each other, someone needed her company.

As she checked her phone, something whined and scratched at her door. Robin rolled her eyes, threw of the covers, and headed to the door. The whining stopped for a moment and there was a loud fart.

"Gold Digger," groaned Robin in exasperation. The whining continued until she opened the door.

Gold Digger zipped past her and sprang up on his short hind legs to jump onto the bed. And like every single time the silly pug had done so, he bounced off the side of the bed and landed with a _flop_ on the soft rug on the floor.

"Do you ever learn, you dumb dog?"

The pug slurped up some drool and panted at her. He had that smile dogs made. His butt shifted because of his violently wagging tail.

"You loser," said Robin. "But I still like you."

She bent down and picked him up. Then, she tossed him onto the bed. His legs splayed open and his ears shot up while he was temporarily airborne.

"You're not sleeping in my bed. This is only until I'm done my phone call," said Robin as she climbed into the bed.

Gold Digger walked in a circle a dozen times prior to settling in. Meanwhile, Robin checked her messages. They were all from Chrom in a very short time frame.

 **Chrom:** What about bae? Is that too similar to babe?  
 **Chrom:** Sweets? Honey? Since you're incredibly sweet. :)  
 **Chrom:** Angel? Since you fell from heaven  
 **Chrom:** Please don't break up with me...I'll stop with the terrible pick-up lines. Promise.

Heat flared at Robin's cheeks. Then, she laughed. Chrom was so terribly corny, but he was her corny idiot.

Gold Digger pawed at her. Robin scratched behind his ear and continued to read the large volume of texts Chrom had sent in the brief moment she fixed herself some food and fed the silly dog.

Wearing the widest grin, she cuddled further into her blanket and read the messages.

 **Chrom:** Beautiful is fitting too  
 **Chrom:** Darling? Does that make us sound like an old married couple? Too 1940s? My dad used to call my mom that…  
 **Chrom:** Love is pretty solid. Or too soon to even say the L-word?

Robin paused and stared at the last message. Could she label what they had as love?

 **Chrom:** What about Duckie? Since your name is a bird and ducks are birds too. Duckie sounds cute.  
 **Chrom:** Are you asleep again or have I scared you off?  
 **Chrom:** Robin? Boo?

She wanted to hide. She didn't know how to do this. Why was it so hard? He made it impossible to think straight and to just _breathe_.

"You're killing me, Chrom," she said under her breath. "You're killing me."

 **Chrom:** I have decided that I will try out all pet names until I find the find the perfect one for you.  
 **Chrom:** Perfect is a good one too.  
 **Chrom:** I hope you're feeling better duckie

Robin couldn't handle it. She closed the conversation. It was suffocating to be smothered in somebody else's affections. Not in bad way. She just wasn't used to this. There was a weird feeling in her chest and she had an urge to either squeal or giggle. Or both. She couldn't tell.

In the end, she made a weird squealing giggle sound that made Gold Digger whine at her.

The alarm she had set on her phone earlier that day rang, bringing her out of Chrom's messages. She needed to keep Lon'qu company while Ke'ri went in for her surgery.

* * *

A tall, young man slouched over himself in a seat in front of the operating room. His head was bowed and his elbows rested on his thighs.

He uncurled himself and dug out his phone. He checked the vibrating phone to see who was calling. It was Robin.

"Lon'qu speaking," he said. "Is there a problem, Miss Grima?"

There was a sigh. "Yeah, there is. You're being formal with me again."

"I'm not in the mood to joke," said Lon'qu curtly.

"I know. Ke'ri told me you worried yourself sick over her surgery and her, in general." Her voice was soft with a nagging edge to it.

"How?" he asked, but then put the pieces together.

Ke'ri said she wanted to play Jelly Crush, but that wasn't the only thing she did. She changed his background to an old picture of him and Robin. He hadn't slept enough to figure out how that happened. She must've texted Robin then.

"Never mind," he said brusquely.

"I'm going to keep you company until she's out. I promised her," said Robin.

Lon'qu didn't say anything. He was too drained to protest. It always felt like he was alone in the world when Ke'ri was in the hospital for another test or a procedure or surgery. There was always that chance she could die and he'd be left alone in the world with no family.

"Is it nice in Chon'sin?" asked Robin.

"It's spring, so there's a lot of festivals. The cherry blossom festival is coming up. Ke'ri wants to go," said Lon'qu.

"I've heard about that! I'd love to see the cherry blossoms fall in spring one day," said Robin wistfully.

"You should visit Chon'sin in spring one day. I think you'd like it," said Lon'qu.

"Will you accompany me?" asked Robin.

He paused.

There was a significance to the cherry blossom festival. It was like Valentine's day, where you took your love to the festival. Often, people went with their friends and families, but couples often outnumbered them and it was a day for the more shy people to confess or certain brave souls proposed.

Of course, Robin probably had no clue what it meant.

"Sure, next time you come," he said.

"Lon'qu, you seriously don't have to worry about this procedure. It's routine and straightforward. Nothing bad will happen. And I say this as a medical professional. I swear my life that she'll come out fine," said Robin.

Oddly, Lon'qu was a little reassured by Robin's words, her voice. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. Sleep tried to drag him away from reality.

"Are you still there?" asked Robin.

"I'm here," he said. He just wanted her to keep talking to him and to listen. "How's everything on your end? And Priam?"

"Fine, I guess. Priam's same old. Still a major douche. Gold Digger is still special as ever. And...that's about it," said Robin. "I miss you."

"I'll be back soon," he said.

"I know. But I still miss having you around. And your scowl, strangely."

He stopped himself before saying the words back. The urge came as a reflex to return the sentiment, but he told himself he would never cross that line.

"It's just you two, right?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"That must've been hard growing up. I'm guessing there's a relative that cares for Ke'ri?"

"Our godfather."

"Is he as serious as you?" Robin teased.

"Yes."

"Oh."

"He says I take after my mother. Calm and collected. Ke'ri is energetic and curious like my father," said Lon'qu. "Or so that's what our godfather claims."

If he were in top condition, he would've never shared such personal details of his life, but he hadn't slept in days. Nor eaten well.

"I used to send my mother letters when she passed away."

Lon'qu slowly perked up from his half-awake position. "How?"

"Grandpa told me if I addressed them to 'Heaven' the angels would come pick them up from the post office like the mailman and deliver them to her."

Robin laughed softly to herself and Lon'qu listened with a refreshed concentration. She was trading him an intimate detail about her life in exchange for what he told her.

"I struggled a lot with my mom's death and I refused to talk. The therapist was at his wit's ends with me and Priam was no help, as per usual. He only succeeded in making me cry.

"So, Grandpa thought up a plan. He got the local post office involved and asked Mrs. Norris down the street to write responses. She had beautiful cursive like my mom. Apparently, Grandpa asked everyone he knew to write cursive to see who had the closest style to my mother. Mrs. Norris was more than happy to help out.

"The people who lived around us and the post office played along the entire thing. I would draw a picture and write a letter to my mom. Except the only problem was that writing a letter as a seven-year-old is hard because of the limited vocabulary and terrible spelling.

"Grandpa offered to write it for me, as long as I told him what I wanted him to write. So...after months of not speaking, I recited a letter to my mother in heaven. He also made me talk to the post office to make sure the letter was given to the special mail angel in case it got lost in normal mail."

Lon'qu couldn't help but smile. His defenses and stress faded away at the heartwarming story.

"What happened?" he asked. The phone was warm against his cheek, like her voice.

"Well, Grandpa got post office to deliver the letter to Mrs. Norris, who wrote a very motherly response. She had four kids around my age, so it was an easy job for her. Then Mrs. Norris gave the letter to our mailman who would deliver the letter in person to me. Grandpa wouldn't let the mailman go until I said thank you."

"Your grandfather sounds like a clever man," said Lon'qu

"He did work for the Plegian government for over half his life. You have to be pretty clever to survive that long," said Robin.

"What happened when you found out what was going on?" asked Lon'qu.

"I never quite found out like how kids are disappointed when they find out that Santa isn't real," said Robin. "I got one last letter before I was supposed to go back to school. It said that my mother could no longer respond because she was selected to go into guardian angel training so she could always watch over me and Aversa. It was too confusing for me to understand, but it was essentially a final good-bye letter. I asked Grandpa to read the letter over and over again until dinner time that day. For the rest of that week, I made Priam read it to me endlessly to the point he threatened to tickle me to death if I didn't stop. And by the end of that summer, I accepted that she couldn't write back. Now that I'm older, I know that sending letters to heaven is impossible, but it helped. Actually, Grandpa told me how he pulled it off during one of his secret trips to the Sable hospital I was in when you and I first got acquainted."

"That's quite a story," said Lon'qu.

"Yeah, you're the first person I've ever told," said Robin.

"I'm honoured," he said.

"Look at how time passes. The surgery's almost done," said Robin.

Lon'qu checked his phone and saw that she was right.

"What's she like? If you don't mind me asking," said Robin.

"She's...a handful. But a good kid," said Lon'qu. "She hasn't thrown a tantrum yet like some of the teens in the hospital."

She laughed. "Oh, just you wait until she starts getting into boys."

"I told her she can't date until she's thirty," said Lon'qu.

"Protective much?"

Lon'qu grumbled something, but his words were drowned out by another poorly concealed yawn.

"How's work?" he asked.

Silence. Robin made an odd sound that was a hybrid of a squeak and a groan. She added at the end. "Fine. I guess."

"It doesn't sound fine," said Lon'qu. He had heard that response on numerous occasions.

"When is my life ever just 'fine'?" she retorted.

He heard some rustling and a clinking sound—most likely Robin rolling in her blanket with Gold Digger.

"Are you eating?" he asked.

"Yup," she said. "Ke'ri tattled that you aren't. If you really want to help out your little sister, take care of yourself. Don't you know you need to eat to grow tall and strong?"

Lon'qu heard the teasing smile Robin often shot at him. It was vivid in his head—her eyes crinkled with a mischievous twinkle and a closed-mouth smile spread slowly as if she was savouring the moment. He usually lost his words by then because of some ridiculously questionable thing she said or did, so he ended up giving her a scowl.

A giggle erupted from the phone. "You're making that face, aren't you? You always do when I say something silly."

"No," he lied.

"Okay, sure," she said playing along.

For some odd reason, Robin sounded much cheerful. He couldn't put a finger on it, but she sounded content. In fact, more than content.

"You sound good," he blurted out.

"Hmm?" she hummed pleasantly. "What do you mean?"

Again, he could hear a smile in her words.

"Something good happen?" he asked.

There was a long pause.

Lon'qu waited. There was _something_ and it tugged at his curiosity.

"I…mmm…I don't know how to even talk about this," said Robin sheepishly. "I can barely really discuss it with Phila."

He hoped his silence encouraged her to confess. He wondered what it was. Was it a promotion at work? Did she get a raise? Was Rickus the Overenthusiastic Intern finally a competent physician? Wait…did something bad happen to Priam, such as getting a viral STI from unprotected sex?

"I'm seeing someone," she said quietly.

He did not expect that.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

He imagined her tucking a hair behind her ear as she lowered her gaze and blushed.

Lon'qu wondered who it was. There was no way it was the cop. Priam said he'd keep an eye on her and Lon'qu was confident that Robin had excellent judgment, even if she enjoyed trolling him and fought with Priam like mismatched siblings.

"Hello?" said Robin.

He hadn't realized his throat had gone dry and the fact that he hadn't eaten much in the last couple days made his stomach clench. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"I'm here," he said.

"It's nothing serious," she said quickly. Pause. "I just thought maybe I should try to get to…y'know…get to know people. Try out this whole dating scene."

"Yeah," he said.

"You should get out too. And meet people," she said. Her previously comfortable vibrato now faltered as she began to ramble. "I mean, you're a great guy. Anyone would be lucky to have you."

"Relationships aren't a priority for me," said Lon'qu, cutting her off before she went on for longer.

Who was she seeing? Did Priam do a background check? And why wasn't he notified? _Was_ it right for him to know every detail of Robin's life? Did he even have a right to know she was dating?

"Right. Ke'ri and all," she murmured. "But don't you ever want to get settled down and have kids, Lon'qu? I mean, you can't follow me around forever." Robin's voice died away as she spoke.

He answered her despite the stream of questions he had for her. "One day. I would like to grow old with someone I care about and start a family. But now isn't the right time."

"Right," said Robin.

He knew she was slightly pursing her lips. He knew her body language and facial expressions so well that it played in his head.

"Is Priam okay with him?" asked Lon'qu as neutrally as possible.

There was a loud, exasperated groan. "He won't stop teasing me about sex. Typical horndog. If I didn't know him as well as I unfortunately do, I would pin him as a misogynistic piece of shit that thinks women exist for the sole purpose of sex. But as much as I hate to admit this, he does have a shred of humanity. Scratch that. A grain."

Sex. That's what couples did, Lon'qu reminded himself. She was probably sleeping with this new guy, and he was probably touching and exploring every intimate space of her.

His stomach clenched. He seriously needed to eat.

"Hello? Lon'qu? Why is the reception so bad? You keep cutting out on me," she said, her voice growing louder as if increasing her volume fixed bad reception.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the doors of the operating room open and out came a fully-scrubbed doctor. Lon'qu bolted up to his feet. She pulled the mask down and smiled.

"Everything went well. Ke'ri will be wheeled back to her room and she should wake up in a bit once the anesthesia wears off," said the doctor.

"Thank you," said Lon'qu.

"Is it over?" asked Robin on the phone, reminding him he was still in a call.

"Yes," said Lon'qu. The several days of tension loosened and exhaustion washed over him, relief, the trigger.

"Did it go well?"

"Yes."

"That's great. I told you so."

"Robin?"

"What?"

"Thank you."

"For what? For being a human being and keeping you company? You should thank Ke'ri—"

"No, thank you."

"You've done more for me than I can ever do for you, Lon'qu. This is the least I could do. You should get going. Once Ke'ri comes out, you'll want to be by her side."

"Yeah."

"Tell her I say hi. I like her. Usually teenagers terrify me because they're angsty balls of hormonal emotions and rage, but I like Ke'ri."

"Robin."

She laughed and played along. "Lon'qu. What? Spit it out."

"I miss...I'm…"

"Huh?"

"I'm glad you're happy."

"Oh. Thanks."

"I need to go. Bye."

Quickly, he hung up before Robin could say anything. Lon'qu stood in the hospital hallway by himself with his head hung low. Robin deserved to be happy. He of all people wished that for her. But he felt off, almost sick, after the call.

It was probably the sleep deprivation and lack of sustenance. Once Ke'ri woke up, he'd get some rest and food.


	26. Pillow Talk

**Author's Notes:** Here is the new chapter of Pursuit! I ended up spending so much time on this chapter and re-writing it so many times, that I could not bring myself to proofread my final draft. _ I know, terrible. But I knew if I proofed it again, I'd end up writing a new draft and drive myself insane, so I decided to post it.

On another note, I apologize for the OOC Miriel last chapter and any scientific discrepancies in the forensics lab. I'm not a professional in every field that I write about in my fanfic, and I'm pretty sure I've botched a lot of things. (Btw for this chapter, police university is a real thing in South Korea, where you can major and study for four years, so that wasn't botched. I know North America has a cadet program or something? I ended up doing some research on it, but didn't go too in-depth).

I appreciate any feedback if you know more than me about something I wrote about in Pursuit. And as always, thank you for reading 'Pursuit' AND for waiting for my snail-pace updates. Please excuse any mistakes in this chapter. =_= I just can't look at it anymore. (I am probably going to regret not proofing later. OH WELL.)

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Pillow Talk**

It wasn't going according to plan. Robin was at her wit's ends. She hated not having control of a situation.

Priam was wearing his smug smirk paired with a raised brow. He crossed his arms and snorted.

Robin scowled at the mess in front of her as performed damage control. "Priam, not a word."

"Why don't you just _buy_ a cake, little Grima? This looks like you murdered something or that time when you leaked all over your white sheets on your period and _I_ had to help you get the blood stains out," said Priam.

"Piss off, Priam!" yelled Robin, pointing the icing spatula in his direction. "Go away! I'm trying to concentrate!"

Gold Digger's paws clicked against the kitchen floor. He had been wandering around Robin's feet since she started this ordeal in hopes of a her dropping a sweet morsel. So far, she had dropped some cake batter and a dollop of icing, which he licked up in a blink of an eye with his tail wagging out of control. The fat pug looked up at Robin with his hopeful, bugging eyes as he licked his slobbery lips.

"Jus' saying," said Priam, shrugging. He plucked up the bake-stained recipe Robin had printed out and took a gander. "White chocolate raspberry cake," Priam read out. His eyes darted back between her version of the recipe and the delectable cake on the printout. "Huh. Looks nothing like the picture." He tossed the paper back onto the flour-dusted kitchen island.

"I know," groaned Robin. She tossed the icing spatula back into the its bowl of buttercream icing and took a step back. "It's supposed to be four layers, but I don't think I can four layers. So I'm trying with two first."

Around the cake stand—which she had bought for this specific occasion—was surrounded by dirty mixing bowls, pans, and cooling trays. The dark brown parchment papers she had peeled off the cake from earlier were crumpled beside the bag of flour. The jar of raspberry jam had a butter knife jutting from its open mouth with the lid in no sight. The electric mixer was standing upright with its dripping whisks and a white sloppy puddle beneath it. And there was a pile of sticky egg shells stacked up beside the empty carton near the other dry ingredients.

"This is why I tell people that getting a bigger house means you'll only make a bigger mess. Exhibition A," said Priam. He gestured at Robin's mess with both arms.

"I'm not asking you to clean it," said Robin, brushing her bangs aside with the back of her hand.

"Why would I clean after you ass? By the way." Priam tapped on his left cheek.

Robin rubbed her left cheek. "Did I get it?"

"No, other cheek, genius."

This time, she rubbed her other cheek. "How about now?"

"Yeah, you got it," said Priam. He dragged a stool out from underneath the kitchen island and sat down.

"Don't settle in. I told you to go away," said Robin. She didn't want him to spectator on her misadventures in making a cake.

"When was the last time you baked?" asked Priam.

"Iunno, one of the summers I was in Plegia for? I know I baked a lot when I was with Grandpa."

"So, ages ago," said Priam. "No wonder you suck at this."

"Okay, Priam, I didn't ask for your opinion," said Robin.

She glanced at the the cake and to a certain degree, Priam was right: it looked like a bloody mess. Maybe raspberry against a white chocolate background wasn't the best idea.

The snickering from Priam drew her out of her critical state. Soon, his snickering became a loud, taunting laugh.

"Stop laughing!" said Robin. But it was too late. A smile was already tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Look at it! It's a monstrosity! You're making your mother roll in her grave with your shitty baking skills!"

Robin snorted with him. "I'm serious, Priam!"

"Oh gods, and you still have two more layers to go!"

Priam's cackling was contagious, and soon enough Robin was giggling with him. Gold Digger wagged his tail and scrambled around the kitchen island. And once the laugher died down, so did Gold Digger's sprint.

"Brat, why not just use the two leftover layers and try again?" suggested Priam. "This is for the po-po's birthday, right?"

"Yeah, it's tomorrow," said Robin, grabbing a plate from the cupboard behind her.

The pile of dishes overflowing from the sink made her uneasy at the thought of cleaning up after she was done. But her thoughts were slammed aside when Priam spoke again.

"You have dinner with Validad tomorrow," said Priam.

"I know," said Robin.

Just when she thought she had distracted herself about her unwanted encounter tomorrow, Priam decided to sober her up with a strong dose of reality.

Robin moved the cake—if you could call it that—onto the plate. She asked, "Want some?"

"No," said Priam. "I don't eat ugly things, just like how I don't date ugly women."

Robin rolled her eyes and muttered, "Judgmental prick." She pushed her sleeves up past her elbows and announced, "Okay, let's try this one more time."

* * *

A young woman with a crimson pixie cut in a dark navy police uniform stood in front of Chrom's desk. The gold police badge on her breast winked at Chrom when she brought up her arms and cracked her knuckles. Chrom took his hand off of the computer mouse and leaned back into his seat.

An excited grin possessed Sully's face. "That's twenty-nine beatings today, Birthday Boy!"

"Sully, we're adults now. Can you not punch me today? Please? As a birthday gift?" asked Chrom.

"Your birthday gift is your birthday beatings. Besides, who else would give you your birthday beatings?" said Sully. She pointed two fingers at her eyes and then directed those same two fingers at Chrom's eyes. "You better watch out. I'm gonna get all twenty-nine in today!"

Chrom groaned as Sully left with a bounce in her steps. It was a game she played whenever it was someone's birthday. Even Sumia and Cordelia weren't spared. And to make it worse, Sully never cleared the punches in one go. Chrom would've almost preferred that. Instead, Sully would punch you when you were least expecting it and she'd (usually) wind you based on how many beatings you were to be gifted that day. Last year, he ended up with bruises. It was going to be a long day avoiding Sully and her birthday gifts.

The YPD-custom mug sat in the view of the corner of his eye. Steaming wisps floated up from the black coffee. Chrom picked up the mug and took a sip. He was only two hours into the day and it already felt like it was dragging on.

He already talked to his two sister and Robin this morning on his way to work. Robin said that someone would be delivering his birthday gift today and that they would leave it outside of his apartment door. He tried to probe Robin on what it could be, but she proved to be a tough nut to crack. Before she wished him a good day, she told him that she may be a terrible liar, but she knew how to guard secrets and surprises well.

Chrom closed the windows on his computer screen, grabbed his coffee, and left his desk. There was another meeting about the prostitute cases in Meeting Room 13. It was only a debrief of the details to catch everyone up to speed and it wasn't mandatory for him to be there, but he felt that going over the details again might get the gears turning in his head.

As he strolled his way to the meeting room, he tried to guess what Robin's present may be. If it was being delivered to his house, there was a high likelihood it was large. But there was a possibility that it was ordered online. He thought hard for a moment and couldn't come up with a single idea as to what Robin could've gotten him.

Oh. Maybe Robin was going to hide in a box and pop out wrapped in ribbon when he arrived at home? Only ribbon.

His cheeks warmed at the thought, so he took a drink of his coffee to wash down his dirty thoughts. He hissed when he burned himself. Besides, Robin said it would be difficult to see him tonight because of her dinner with her father.

"Chrom, are you okay?" asked Cordelia, placing a hand on his back.

"H-hey," he choked out, greeting her.

"Are you coming to the meeting?" she asked.

"Yeah, heading there right now," said Chrom.

"Happy birthday, by the way," she said.

"Thanks," said Chrom.

"Are you excited for tonight?" asked Cordelia, matching his pace.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to hang out with everyone."

"Oh! You need to seek the cakes Sumia baked," exclaimed Cordelia. "They look amazing."

"Cakes, as in plural?" said Chrom. "As in more than one?"

"You know how she is. She couldn't decide which kind to make, so she made a couple. And people from the other departments always come by to eat Sumia's baking, so an extra couple cakes doesn't hurt. It still smells amazing in our house from her baking fest."

He smiled fondly to himself as he remembered how it always smelled nice whenever he visited Sumia's dorm when they were in first year at Ylisstol Police University. The aroma of baked goods always permeated on Sumia's floor.

Their soft footsteps was the only sound for a couple seconds before Cordelia asked a question. "So what's she like?"

"Who?"

"The person you're seeing. Everyone's curious. One of the most eligible bachelors at YPD finally has a girlfriend after all these years of being married to his job. There's so many rumours going around," said Cordelia.

"You guys saw her when we all got tanked," said Chrom.

"I was taking care of Sumia. She barged in your guitar case, remember?" said Cordelia. "I was kinda drunk too, so I wasn't too focused on my surroundings."

"What kind of rumours?" asked Chrom.

Cordelia grasped her hands behind her back and cocked her head back in thought. "Well, one of the rumours is that she's some foreign actress."

Chrom chuckled and shook his head. Rumours. He couldn't imagine Robin being an actress. From what he had noticed during their time together, she didn't like having attention focused on her. She had a tendency to look away and blush and murmur under her breath whenever she caught him watching her. Or maybe that was a shy thing?

"She's not a foreign actress," said Chrom. "She is foreign though. She's from Plegia and she's very beautiful."

"Oh," said Cordelia.

"She's also very caring, since she's a doctor and all." Chrom recalled how she stitched him right up in the ER and their close proximity. "And she smells nice." Then he remembered how she grabbed him and kissed in the ice cream shop. "And she always surprises me."

"Sounds like you're really into her," said Cordelia. "Are you okay to come to dinner at the Shepherds tonight with us then? Don't you want to spend time with your new girlfriend?"

Chrom offered Cordelia a sad smile and said, "Can't. She had something she couldn't miss today."

Suddenly, someone punched Chrom's side.

"Ow!" hissed Chrom. "Sully! I almost spilled my coffee! Can we go _one_ year without beating me to a pulp on my birthday?"

"That," said Sully, pointing a finger in front of Chrom's face, "is for being late." This time, she punched him in the shoulder. "That's Year One."

Chrom's face scrunched up and he rubbed his shoulder and side vigorously to alleviate the throbbing pain. Two bruises. Twenty-eight more to go.

"Come on, we have shit to talk about," said Sully, shoving both Cordelia and Chrom into Meeting Room 13. "Gods, listening to you gush about your new girlfriend from down the hall was awful."

* * *

The dreaded day finally arrived. The lack of sleep Robin had maintained for most of the week was catching up to her. Last night's fiasco with Chrom's cake added to her fatigue. Thankfully, the cake turned out okay. She was too exhausted to write 'Happy Birthday' on the cake, so Priam offered to do it for her and pack it in the box. It was strange for Priam to be helpful for once, but she was in a dire need of sleep, so she took up his offer.

Yawning, Robin dozed off on her feet with an patient's file opened in front of her at the nurse's station. Maribelle arched a perfect brow from behind the nurses' station. The trauma surgeon brought up a hand to her eyes to rub the sleep away, but the blonde nurse jumped up and grabbed her wrists.

"Huh?" Robin stared at Maribelle in surprise.

"Sweetie, you'll smudge your eyeliner," said Maribelle. "Your makeup habits are still meh at best. What would you do without me?" She sighed and smiled softly at Robin.

"Sweetie?" Robin repeated the word under her breath and then pretended to focus on the patient file as she felt her face flare up.

"Are you okay?" asked Maribelle.

"Fine." Robin's answer was drowned out by her wide yawn.

Maribelle plucked a tissue from the tissue box and offered it to Robin.

She received the tissue and dabbed away the tears from her yawn. "Sorry, Chrom's been calling me all sorts of…endearing pet names," murmured Robin. "Sweetie, is one of them. It's just weird. You took me by surprise."

"I've always called you 'sweetie'," said Maribelle.

"I know," said Robin.

"What else does he call you?" asked Maribelle, sitting back in her seat. She settled into her seat like she was getting comfortable for a three hour-long movie.

"A lot of things…he keeps switching them around," said Robin. Then she listed off the pet names with her fingers. "Darling, baby, duckie, angel, beautiful, sweetie. What does Stahl call you?"

"I make him call me his goddess," said Maribelle with an absolutely serious face.

Robin laughed. Maribelle would make her boyfriend call her that. It was befitting of the fabulous blonde nurse.

"So how's it going with you two?" asked Maribelle.

"Good," said Robin. She looked down at the open file again and played with her pen. "I guess."

"I guess? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's his birthday today."

"Mmhmm. Do you guys have something planned?"

"No. My father's in town and I have to have dinner with him," said Robin. "But if I have time after, maybe."

The majority of the day had already passed and with Robin keeping herself busy at the hospital, she had managed to distract herself this long. But the break she was allowing herself to take with this chat with Maribelle was making everything come rushing back. What was her father going to demand this time? What about Chrom?

Robin grew silent for a moment, trying to organize her thoughts on how to say the next bit to Maribelle. And Maribelle waited. She was a good friend like that: she waited for you to formulate your thoughts.

"I feel…this pressure, like…" Robin bit her lip and examined the pen in her hand like it was the most fascinating thing in her surroundings.

"What do you feel pressured about?" Maribelle prodded gently. She was using her patient voice. The one she used with the patients when they were in great discomfort and she was trying to figure out exactly what was the problem.

She'd just spit it out. That seemed like a good idea.

Robin met Maribelle's patient gaze and pouted at her. "Birthday…sex," she murmured. Immediately after, she broke eye contact.

Maribelle attempted to hold back a giggle, but it was to little avail.

"It's not funny, Maribelle." Robin leaned on the desk and buried her face into her arms. "I have no fucking idea what I'm doing half the time I'm with him," she said in a muffled voice. Robin propped her chin on her folded arms. "He just whisks me away with his words and his hugs and his kisses. We've known each other for like what? A month and a half if we include the first time we met."

Her friend patted Robin on the head. "Dear Robin, I thought this was going to be much more serious."

"It is serious though. For me. I don't feel ready to have sex with him yet and all my common sense and logic are thrown out the window when I'm with him!"

"Then don't," said Maribelle. Residual amusement graced a smile on her sweet face. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I've known Chrom for a long time and he's a good guy. He's not going to pressure you to do anything you don't want to."

"Yeah."

"One hundred percent. No, one hundred and fifty percent."

"Thanks, I feel better."

"But in the off chance he does because he's lost his mind or something, let me know. His sisters and I'll him straight. Phila might get there before us though."

* * *

The meeting lasted longer than intended and little progress had been made. So, after twenty-eight anxiously anticipated, yet unexpected punches, complimenting Sumia on her delicious cakes, and getting kicked out by Frederick, yet again, the team went to the Shepherds to grab a drink and celebrate Chrom's birthday.

In the boisterous pub, they managed to put a couple tables together near the windows. Windows probably weren't the best idea because Chrom caught himself staring out the window for most of the time. The Reeking Box was in full view from where he was sitting and it reminded him of Robin. How silly of him, pining for the woman who was already his girlfriend. They had seen each other just two days ago. He hadn't heard from her since this morning, except for one text saying that his present had been delivered.

Being surrounded by his friends and having drinks was the best remedy for him right now, but he wanted to go home. It had been an incredibly long week with chilling new developments. He wanted to take his mind off of things and being surrounded by the YPD crew wasn't helping. The noise of a Friday night in the pub only added to the buzzing in his mind.

Vaike spotted the empty glass in front of Chrom. "Hey, buddy, do you want another glass?"

"No, I'll pass," said Chrom. He had had enough to drink and was contently buzzed.

"You seem distracted. Are you still thinking about the case?" asked Sumia.

"No," said Chrom. He put on his happy face to reassure his friends that nothing was wrong. "I'm a little tired. I think I'm going to head home."

"Do you need to call a cab?" asked Cordelia.

"Ah, Chrom. I can drive you home," said Sumia. "I haven't been drinking, so I can be your designated driver." She turned to her best friend. "I'll come right back after."

"I'd appreciate that, thanks," said Chrom, standing up. "Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to be a downer."

"Not at all," said Kellam. "This week has been tough."

"Yeah," Chrom agreed. "You guys deserve a pat on your backs."

"Ready to go?" asked Sumia with her jacket folded over her arm and her bag on her shoulder.

* * *

Priam parked in front of the entrance of the five-star hotel, the Speedwing. "Good luck."

"What? You're not coming in?" asked Robin, gripping her clutch.

"He wants to talk to you in private," said Priam. "Now get out of the car. Oh. Don't forget his gift." He handed her a wrapped box.

"Thanks."

The bellboy opened her door and she stepped out in a black dress and heels. Quietly, she thanked the bellboy and made her way to the restaurant on the top floor.

"It'll be over before you know," she said to herself.

When she arrived, the hostess took her to a private room guarded by several suited bodyguards. Robin rolled her eyes when they asked to check if she had any weapons on her.

"Our apologies, Miss Grima," said Mustafa, the head of security.

"It's fine. Apparently, being family doesn't cut it anymore," said Robin.

He didn't smile. His face didn't change at all. "It's nice to see you again," he said.

"Likewise," said Robin. "You trimmed your beard, I see."

"My daughter said that I looked like a homeless person and insisted that I do something about it," said Mustafa.

"How does one look like a homeless person in a suit?" asked Robin with a chuckle.

"I don't know, Miss Grima. All I know is that I have a bossy seven-year-old at home," said Mustafa.

"She's clear," said one of the guards. He handed her her clutch.

"Thank you," she said dryly.

"You may go in," said Mustafa, opening the door for Robin.

Once she stepped in, he closed the door behind her. At the white table, sat Validar in a cushioned cerulean chair. His dark pinstripe suit and Robin's black dress clashed in the vibrant room of whites, blues, and golds.

"Hello, Father," said Robin. She placed her clutch beside her cutlery, pulled the chair out and sat down.

"Hello, Robin," said Validar.

"This is a congratulatory gift," said Robin, pushing the wrapped box across the table.

"Thank you," said Validar. He didn't move to reach out of the gift. He merely studied with his fingers intertwined in one another.

It was a stiff start, but better than a one-sided yelling battle. Robin picked up her water and the ice clinked against the glass. She sipped it with the hopes of washing down her nerves.

Validar had aged over the years. Even with all the power in Plegia, it appeared that he couldn't escape time like everyone else. Wrinkles were more pronounced on his forehead, probably from all the frowning. His slicked back hair had begun to grey and he looked thinner than usual.

He picked up his glass of wine and the ring Robin despised winked at her when the purple sapphire reflected the light above them. His eyes never left her as he drank from the glass. She didn't dare to look away in case he interpreted that as her growing weaker over the years.

Finally, he spoke. "You look presentable, Robin."

"I put in effort so I wouldn't embarrass you," she said. It didn't matter if she was cold in the dress with the low cut back or that her feet were sore already. All that mattered was that she was 'presentable'.

He responded with a tight smile and put the glass of wine back down. "How is everything in your life?"

"Fine," said Robin. "And how's being the president of Plegia?"

"Good," said Validar.

A stifling silence filled the room, making Robin want to run out of the room for a breath of fresh air. But she knew better. It was a tactic he always used, where he'd sit there and try to choke out information by staring you down. By probing you. Robin wasn't sure if she was being defensive or overly sensitive or her father had gotten really good at playing this game. His neutral face was void of any emotion. Usually he had the slightest traces of disgust or disappointment on his visage, but today there was nothing. It was impossible to read him. She cracked first.

"I know you're not here because of pleasantries," said Robin. "What do you need from me, Father?"

"Can't I enjoy a nice dinner with my daughter whom I rarely get to see?" asked Validar, swirling his wine glass.

"We're not the type to spend family quality time together," said Robin.

A knock on the door paused their conversation. A waiter entered the room with the first course of dinner. He set one plate in front of Validar and the other in front of Robin. After introducing what the salad was—Robin didn't hear him because she had her eyes fixed on her father—he left. The waiter was appeared relieved to leave the war zone despite his service smile.

Nonchalantly, Validar stabbed the greens with his fork and took the first time. He chews, swallowed, and said, "Eat."

Robin picked up her her own form and it hovered over the colourful salad with a dark drizzling of the dressing. Resigning herself to a long dinner, she told herself that she needed to eat and get all the energy she could get. But the salad didn't taste as good as it looked and she already felt sick to the stomach.

It wasn't until the second course her father spoke again. He dropped the question like he was asking how her day was or if she remembered to eat breakfast. Like it had no weight. Like it meant nothing.

"Do you have plans to return?"

Her eyes flicked up to her father, brows slanted. "Why?"

The dark, gangly man in front of her took his time chewing and washing down the food with wine. She wanted him to spit it out already. To hurry the hell up, instead of torturing her like this.

"Because your place is in Plegia," said Validar.

Robin scoffed quietly and looked down at her prawn appetizer with different glimmerings of green, oranges, and red. The food looked amazing, but it tasted awful. Robin had a rough idea as to what he wanted to discuss, but she was hoping that this wouldn't be the topic.

Validar watched her as she formulated a counter-argument. Robin exhaled a slow, measured breath and took a drink from her glass. The glass against her fingertips was slippery in her grip from the condensation caused by the melting ice. Was there any way to slip out of this?

"I'd like to stay here," said Robin, meeting her father's eyes.

His face darkened. His wrinkles were emphasized by his disapproving frown. He didn't like it when she defied him. It was never pretty after the first step over the line. Nothing went right, just like how buttoning your shirt with the wrong first button leads to a series of wrong buttons until you realize you made a mistake or you get to the end and realize you're missing a button hole. It was rare Robin ever won, but she still tried. What else did she have?

"I don't care about what you would _like_ to do," he said. " _You_ have your half of your promise to keep." His impatience was seeping into his words. She had set it off, but it was too late to turn back unless she wanted to fold everything and let him have his way.

"I know," said Robin. "But for the time being, I'd like to stay here."

Validar's jaw tightened as she spoke and she thought he'd rupture a vein.

"I have a career here and I have actually have friends and a life and…" Robin stopped herself before slipping up about Chrom. That was something she did not want to discuss with her father. Ever. "Other things," she said neutrally.

"Robin," said Validar, rubbing his temples. He whipped out the napkin tucked into his shirt and threw it onto the table. "You're getting attached to this damned country. It's all a facade. They all act like they're better than Plegian and more progressive, when they were the ones who put Plegia in its state!"

"Father, you can't change the fact that history happened. I get it. You grew up in poverty after the war. You grew up without a father because of the war. But it wasn't my friends and the people I interact with who put Plegia in a bad position. There has been a lot of progress thanks to you and everyone else," said Robin. "You should be proud of how far we've come in the past decades.

"They would do the same if they had the chance," said Validar, stabbing an accusing finger at Robin.

"Don't you think you're being close-minded for a leader of a country?" snapped Robin.

"How dare you. What's gotten into you?" hissed Validar.

"Nothing," said Robin, averting her eyes. "I have reasons to want to stay."

"Is it a man? Is he promising you garbage like how he'll make you happy for the rest of your life?" demanded Validar.

Robin stiffened and glowered at her father. This wasn't about Chrom.

"Because fairy tales aren't real and neither are happy endings, Robin," said Validar. "Grow up! The world is unfair! I thought you were smarter than this."

This wasn't about Chrom. This was about her. It was about her sanity. Her humanity.

"You're coming back to Plegia to take your place in this family. I've had enough of your free time," spat Validar.

"And then what?" Robin shouted.

Validar stopped his tirade. His mouth nearly dropped open at her lash out. "How dare you raise your voice at your own father?"

"I'm not a child anymore," said Robin. Her eyes were tearing up, but she refused to cry. She begged her body to not allow a tear to fall. "I can't do this anymore," she whispered, turning away from him and swiping a tear that escaped.

"You've gotten weak," said Validar. "You're coming back home. Expect to pack everything up by the end of this month," he said with a note of finality.

"No. I'm not doing that. All you're going to do is use me as leverage to gain more power by marrying me off to some political or business figure's son." Robin stood up from her seat and grabbed her clutch off the table. She headed straight for the door, but then stopped when he spoke in an all-too-calm voice.

"You will do as you're told. And I didn't say you could leave."

Robin screwed her eyes shut. She wanted to disappear. To fade away.

"No matter how long you live Ylisse, it won't make you one of them. You are still a Plegian. Your loyalty lies to your family and I know that you know this," said Validar. "You may leave now."

Robin fled the scene and stormed home. Whenever she was this miserable, Phila was the first person who came to mind, but it was Chrom.

* * *

The television that was rarely on, flickered in the dark living room, illuminating its owner slouched on the couch in front of it. He clicked through the channels lazily with the remote and yawned. After flipping through the channels about a dozen times more, he turned off the the TV and got up from the couch.

From a brief glance at the clock, Chrom that it was past ten. Robin had long stopped responding to his texts after around late six. He assumed that she was having dinner with her father. He hoped it went well or was going well. She seemed very stressed out about the entire things, which made Chrom believe that she had a rather strained relationship with her father.

A large flat rectangle wrapped in brown parchment paper and bubble wrap caught his attention when he was heading into the kitchen for a glass of water. He stopped and stared at the present Robin had sent to him. He had an interesting time trying to get it into his apartment when he got home. The challenge was trying to get the rectangle into his door, but the angle from his narrow hallway to the door made it near impossible. Or maybe that was because he had been drinking. Fortunately, Sumia had been kind enough to help him move it into his apartment.

For a moment, he considered opening it, but he thought it'd be more considerate to open it when she was present. In the end, he skipped the glass of water and resigned himself to go to bed.

After brushing his teeth and washing up, he went to his room. He pulled of his shirt and tossed it towards the general corner, where the laundry basket was, but missed. If it were any other day, he'd bother to pick it up—a habit his mother and Emm had beaten into him with words and nagging—but today was not that day. Ungracefully, he kicked off his pants and flicked off the light.

The blanket was cool against his warm skin. He lied there awake, bored. Chrom wondered what Robin was doing. Did she mention him to her father? Was he going to have to meet her father while he was here? The thought made his stomach churn. Hopefully, they could save that for Robin's father's next visit.

Chrom rolled onto his other side and the space that gave him the ability to move around so much in his bed made it feel empty. He grabbed his phone off the bedside table and checked: no new messages or missed calls. Dejected, he put the phone back on the table.

This time, Chrom lied on his back and stared up at the ceiling. The bed definitely felt empty. He could literally starfish on his bed and still have room to pretend to make a snow angel on his sheets. He thought about how nice it would be to cuddle with someone and fall asleep. Then, it dawned on him. He was twenty-nine and should probably consider settling down soon and start a family, instead of being obsessed with his career. The thought of coming home to a loving wife and not eating dinner alone or takeout at the YPD headquarters made him grin. Having kids that were half him and half his wife made him feel tingly inside.

Now he really couldn't sleep. The lack of milestone achievements in his life was overwhelming, sparking the cycle of nighttime over-thinking. He wondered what Robin's thoughts were on marriage and kids. Did she want to get married? Did she want kids? Wait, it hadn't been long since they started seeing each other. These questions would probably freak her out.

Maybe he could get out of bed and game. It had been a while since he last gamed. But he had warmed up his blanket enough that leaving his nest would mean that it would be cold.

Decisions, decisions.

Suddenly, Chrom's ears perked up. He picked up his head for a moment and strained to hear. He swore he heard something. It could've been his neighbours upstairs. They usually made a bit of a ruckus. Sometimes, he had to sleep on the couch because he thought it would be more courteous to not be the third wheel in their nighttime activities. The passionate moans, the banging against the wall, and the creaking of the bed made it hard to fall asleep.

Chrom laid his head back down and pulled the blanket over his shoulder. It must've been the next door neighbours.

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._

No. That was his door.

He threw off his covers and went to answer his door. As he made his way to the door, he flicked on all the lights out of habit. The knocking continued until he unlocked the door, opened it, and peeked his head out.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

Outside stood Robin with a box in her hands and a bottle of wine sticking out of the bag on her shoulder. Her hair wasn't pulled back into his usual ponytail. Instead, she let it down and had it parted to one side with a jeweled hair clip pinned in place.

"Happy birthday, Chrom," whispered Robin. Her bright red lips pulled into an apologetic smile.

Chrom had never seen her with red lipstick. It was incredibly sexy paired with her sultry eyes. It looked like she had left a socialite dinner party rather than a dinner with her father.

"I should've called but—"

Chrom opened the door wide open and held out his arms for a hug. "Wow, Robin! You look…you look beautiful. I didn't think I'd see you tonight!"

Her face grew redder by the second and her eyes were wide. She didn't move into hug him.

"What?" he asked. "Did I embarrass us? Was I too loud?" he asked in a loud whisper.

"I-I didn't think you'd be wearing your…birthday suit," Robin murmured, bowing her head. "Well, I guess you have underwear on…"

"Oh. Oh!"

That. Chrom wanted to kick himself. What was he thinking? He should've wore _something_ to the door.

"I'll go put some clothes on," he said, pointing to inside of his apartment.

Robin nodded. "Yeah. Okay."

When Chrom came out his room dressed, after scrambling around to find his clothes, he saw Robin in the kitchen putting down the box she had brought with her. She grabbed the wine bottle by the neck and set it on the counter beside the box.

"That was quick," said Robin, noticing his arrival. "Do you have wine glasses?"

"Yeah, somewhere," said Chrom, walking into the kitchen.

Chrom had an urge to run his fingers through her hair. It looked so shiny and soft. In place of doing that, he placed a hand on her back. The dress had a modest front, but it had a nice surprise on the back, where it was slowly cup, revealing her back. Robin withdrew in surprise and spun around, but he caught her and drew her in.

"Umm…hey," she whispered, her arms pressed up against his chest.

"I missed you," he said. He pressed his lips onto her forehead and then smiled. Everything was great. Chrom held her in his arms and relished in the moment.

"Did you get my gift?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," said Chrom. "I wanted to open it when you were with me. So I was waiting until we were together again."

"You didn't have to," said Robin with a coy smile.

He could tell that it made her happy that he decided to wait.

"I know, but I thought you'd appreciate it," said Chrom.

"You're sweet," said Robin.

"May the birthday boy ask for a kiss for being the Chromplete package of a boyfriend?" asked Chrom.

"Did you just make a pun with your own name?"

"Maybe."

"Oh gods, you're a dork," said Robin.

"I can make one with your name," said Chrom.

"No, please don't. You're ruin—"

"You're Robin my heart. Get it?" said Chrom.

"I don't know if I should laugh or cry," said Robin.

"Do I get my kiss?" asked Chrom.

"Is that the only thing the birthday boy is going to ask for?" asked Robin.

"Well, there's still a little over an hour before my birthday ends. So I have about a little over an hour of requests left," said Chrom.

"Fine," said Robin. "No more bad puns. They're worst than dad jokes."

"Robin, I would make hilarious dad jokes," said Chrom.

"Just stop talking before I change my mind," said Robin.

She went up on her tiptoes and with a little help from Chrom, she kissed him on the his cheek. Chrom grinned, giddy to be reunited with his significant other on his birthday. Or well, what remained of it.

"Oh no. You have lipstick on your cheek," said Robin, wiping at his cheek.

"That's fine," said Chrom. "How was the dinner?"

"Let's not talk about it," she said. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. Robin squeezed a little too tight around a sensitive area, so he winced and pulled her arms away out of reflex. "Oh gods, what's wrong?"

Ah. Right. The bruises from Sully.

"Birthday beatings," said Chrom. "There's some bruising."

"What?" demanded Robin.

Chrom flinched. She hadn't raised her voice once since they started dating.

"Who was beating you! Show me!"

Robin grabbed the hem of shirt and tried to lift it up. Chrom grabbed her hands and fought her.

"It's okay! They're not that bad!" he reassured her. He had a feeling that if she saw the red welts, she'd freak out even more.

"I'm a doctor, let me take a look," said Robin.

"Seriously, it's fine! It just happens every year at the office. It's a police officer thing," said Chrom, trying to pry Robin's grip on his shirt. She was surprisingly strong.

She stopped and shot him a confused look. "You guys are weird."

"I know," grumbled Chrom. Sully _was_ weird.

He needed to distract her before she fussed over him again. But it was kind of nice being fussed over by someone who wasn't his sisters or friends. Brushing the thought aside, he asked, "What's in the box?"

Robin glanced over her shoulder and back at him. "Cake! I baked you a cake. Open it."

"Yum. What kind?" asked Chrom. Internally, he hoped it was chocolate or vanilla. He already had a lot of chocolate and vanilla cake with various icings and toppings at work.

"White chocolate cake with raspberry in between the layers," said Robin with a hint of pride. "It took me hours, so I'm hoping it will be good. Open it."

That sounded really good. Chrom opened the box and stared into the box. Inside, there was a white cake with raspberries bordering the edge. And in the middle was a drawing of a penis in blue icing with 'FAPPY BIRTHDAY' underneath it.

He licked his lips and looked back at Robin. Maybe she wanted a certain reaction out of him. But he wasn't sure how to react to the penis cake. Her eyes were filled with hope and anticipation for him to say something.

"Duckie, are you hinting at something with the cake?" asked Chrom carefully.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Robin, her face falling. "Did it get squished on the way here? I was extra careful." Robin tucked her hair behind her ear as she peeked into the cake. Her eyes widened in horror and then she started to curse under her breath.

"I can't believe I trusted that jackass. 'Go to bed, little Grima. I'll take care of the writing 'Happy Birthday' on the cake for you'. I should've known better!" snapped Robin. "I'm sorry, Chrom. Priam has problems. It was really late and I needed to sleep. Priam had been sleeping all day yesterday so he told me he'd finish up. I…I can't even, right now."

From the sounds of it, her cousin sounded like a real character.

"It's okay. I'm sure it tastes just as good," said Chrom, lifting the penis birthday cake out of the box. "I mean. It could've been worse. It could've been shaped like a penis, right?" He didn't think Robin could look more annoyed, aside from that time he tried to ticket her for stealing his bike, but his remark upset her even more.

"You know what, Chrom? Now I'm getting suspicious of Priam doing something else to the cake," said Robin. "Do you have a wine opener? I need a drink."

"Yeah, let me get that for you," said Chrom.

He found the wine opener in the last drawer after all his drawers and pulled out two wine glasses. He screwed the wine opener into the cork and popped it out. Robin clapped for him.

"I can never do that. I usually make Lon'qu do it for me," said Robin.

"Lon'qu, your housemate who's away, right?" said Chrom, pouring wine out.

"Yeah," said Robin.

She tried to hoist herself up onto the counter, but failed. He chuckled and lifted her up by her waist and seated her on the counter.

"Thank you," she said.

This warranted another kiss. He leaned in and pointed to the other cheek. She rolled her eyes and pecked him on the cheek. He needed to do this more often. Chrom handed her a glass of wine.

"We should make a toast," said Robin.

"To what?"

Robin hummed in thought and lightly kicked her feet. After there was moment where he saw an idea cross her face, she stopped moving, sat up straight, and held out her glass to him.

"To happiness and the future adventures we'll have together," said Robin.

"To happiness and the future adventures we'll have together," agreed Chrom.

They clinked their glasses and drank to their toast.

"Should we cut the cake?" asked Robin. "Oh, crap. Do you want candles? I completely forgot candles."

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," said Chrom. "I blew out enough candles for a hundred years at work." They insisted they do each cake. Sometimes he questioned his friends' sanity. There was absolutely no need to blow out twenty-nine candles for nine cakes. No need. "Would you judge me if I suggested that we just eat the cake with forks without cutting it? That way we an avoid dishes."

"I will never judge you for trying to lessen a dish load. Sometimes, I just eat out of the pan when no one's there to judge me," said Robin.

"Great."

* * *

A half-eaten cake and a bottle of wine later, they sat on the couch face-to-face. Robin was far more intoxicated than Chrom and her cheeks had a rosy tinge. Her foot was rubbing up and down his leg, but he did nothing to stop her.

"It doesn't take much to get you drunk, huh?" asked Chrom.

"I needed a drink today. I don't usually drink." Robin inched closer to him with her wine glass pressed against her breasts. "Does it bother you?" She pouted with her candy apple red lips.

"No, but it makes me worry for you," he said. "Don't drink without me or friends. You're very touchy."

"Maybe that's because I want to touch you," she said, coming even closer.

Chrom wanted nothing more than physical intimacy with Robin. He craved it and savoured every touch, embrace, and kiss. But he didn't want to go further while she was drunk. The lines blurred for consent when alcohol was involved and he had seen too many cases over the years where someone got drunk and had sex but turned out they didn't consent to it. It was messy and emotional and at the end of the day, it was rape. But most of all, he wanted all of her to be there when they made love.

Robin had managed to moved in mere inches away from his faces. Chrom took the glass from her hand and set it aside.

"I think that's enough," said Chrom. He was buzzed too, but still had enough of his senses to make the right judgment calls. "Babe—"

Robin placed her finger on his lips. "Shhh. Just kiss me."

He removed her hand from his lips and held it in his. "Do you need to head home anytime soon?" He had been anticipating Priam's call once it passed midnight.

"Nope," said Robin, shaking his head.

"What about Priam?" asked Chrom.

"Who cares. I left my phone at home. He's on his own," said Robin. She wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him in. "Who? Do you want me to go home?" she asked in between kisses.

Her kisses were more dizzying than the wine. She kept drawing him away from logic and common sense with each kiss. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and taunted him, yet begged him for more.

Chrom pulled back. "No, if I could I'd spend all my time with you."

"Okay, then, what's the problem?" asked Robin, pushing him down onto his back. She moved quickly and precisely for a drunk person. Next thing he knew, she was straddling him. Then, she froze. "Shit. Am I coming off as a prostitute?"

"Huh?"

"Am I coming off as a prostitute?" she asked.

"Robin, I have no idea where that came from. And babe, prostitution is illegal in Ylisse. I'd have to arrest my own girlfriend she was charging me to have sex with her," said Chrom.

" _Would_ you arrest me though?" asked Robin.

That was an ethical question that he didn't want to think about with Robin straddling him while he had been drinking.

"Uhh…"

"But Officer, what if someone is selling themselves on the streets to feed their kids? Or put themselves through school? Do you know how expensive raising kids and going to school is now? Outrageous!" shouted Robin.

"It's still illegal," said Chrom.

"But, sweetie. Minimum wage doesn't cut it," said Robin, shaking her head.

Every movement she made was exaggerated, especially the one where she'd accidentally grind against him.

"And what if they were _sold_ into the sex trade. Would you arrest a teenager for being a hooker?" asked Robin.

"It's against the law, so yes," said Chrom. "Robin, I'm begging you, please stop squirming."

"Wow. You'd arrest them?" asked Robin. "It's not their fault the world is unfair. That doesn't stop the fact that there will _always_ be prostitution. Because sex will always sell."

"What would you like to do then?" asked Chrom.

"Me?" she asked, pointing a figure to herself.

"Yes, you."

"Hmmm." Robin put a finger against her lips. Then, she giggled and grabbed the glass of wine Chrom had taken away from her.

"Ah, ah, ah," said Chrom, stopping her from drinking anymore.

"Why?" she whined. "I'm not that drunk."

"You're pretty drunk, duckie," said Chrom.

She laughed to herself. "I don't have an answer."

"Huh?"

"Your question. About prostitution," said Robin with a morose expression. "I don't have an answer." Chrom watched Robin still for a brief moment, and then she was back to be animated. "So, Birthday Boy. Any more request? You got your birthday kisses. Are you going to ask for birthday sex?"

"What? No!"

Robin looked taken aback and then she was back to giggling uncontrollably. "You should've seen your face! You looked like I accused you of cheating!" She snorted as she threw her head back and laughed.

"Robin?" said Chrom.

"Chrom," said Robin with a teasing smile.

The dress on Robin was sliding further up her thighs, revealing more and more skin. He couldn't help but slide his hands up with the hem. Naga, Robin was testing him.

"You are drunk," said Chrom.

"Maybe, a little."

"Robin, I would love to make love to you right now, but not when you're drunk. I don't want our first time together with us drunk," said Chrom with a sigh. That was a lot more difficult to say than he thought it would be. "We might end up regretting it."

Robin shifted her position, but didn't climb off of him. Chrom gritted his teeth and choked out, "I'm begging you, Robin, please stop moving. You're making it hard for me to think."

"So, what you're saying is…"

Chrom waited with a bated breath, hoping that his message got across to her.

"No sex?" Robin cocked her head to the side and blinked at it.

"No sex."

"Okay," said Robin with a single nod.

She climbed off of him and sat on her side of the couch. Chrom let out a breath of relief. He didn't know how much he could've held it together without her noticing his raging boner. He nearly threw her off of him. Chrom heard Robin also let out a breath of relief.

"What's wrong?" asked Chrom. Was she that disappointed?

"Just grateful," said Robin.

"For?"

"My head's spinning, how about yours?" asked Robin. "But I want cake. Feed me."

Chrom picked up her fork and scooped up some cake. Robin had her mouth open and he fed her cake.

"What are you grateful for?"

"Oh, that you wanted to wait. I thought, hell, let's get it over with. We're going to do this at some point. Might as well get the first time over with tonight. Sorry. Am I drunk? Ah." She opened her mouth for cake.

"Very. Robin, is that how you really feel about this?" Chrom put more cake in her mouth.

"Umm…well, it's just I don't feel ready to have sex with you. I'm terribly inexperienced. Half the time I hate it when people touch me by surprise. I don't mind you as much, but there are moments where you catch me off-guard."

That would explain why she tensed up so often whenever he placed a hand on her or hugged her from behind.

"Gods, I sound like I have so many problem. This is so embarrassing. I can't believe I'm telling you this," she murmured.

"No, please. Don't be," said Chrom.

"And then all I can think is how other couples are probably doing it and we're dating like preteens, since teens are _so_ developed now, with our hand-holding and kisses," said Robin, throwing her hands up into the air. "And it's all my fault, because I have an intimacy problem."

"I like holding hands and kissing you," said Chrom.

"There you go again!" she accused. "You make me feel all fuzzy and warm inside. I'm never drinking with you again. Taking me off guard like that." Robin pouted at him and pretended to be angry at him, but her giggle ruined her act.

"You're adorable, you know that, angel?" said Chrom.

"And your pet names," said Robin. "I can't think straight with you around me. You're constantly in my head."

"Robin."

"What? Are you going to try to get me to tell you more? Stop using your interrogation tactics on me. It won't work."

Chrom bit his tongue so he didn't burst into laughter. When he tamed his amusement, he said, "We can take it as slow as we need to. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not dating you for sex. I'm dating you because spending time with you makes me happy and I like you."

Robin stopped rambling and was back to staring at him again.

"You're okay with us not doing the thing?" she asked, almost incredulously.

This time, he did laugh at her. "I'm okay with us not doing 'the thing'."

"No, I'd like to try later, maybe. Once we really get to know each other more…" said Robin. "But you need to get tested since STIs are no fun in sexy time, not that I'm assuming anything."

"Why are we only getting me tested? Don't you need to get tested too?" asked Chrom. Drunk Robin was terribly amusing, especially when she didn't hate you.

Robin leaned in like she was about to share a secret. "My vagina is a happy place."

Chrom snorted, trying not to laugh at his poor girlfriend.

"And I just told you. I'm inexperienced with this whole business and dating," said Robin, waving her hands around.

"So, wait, Are you a virgin?"

Her lips pulled to one side in deep thought. How difficult was it to answer a 'yes or no' question? Right, she pretty much drank most of the wine herself.

"Technically, no," she said slowly.

"I don't get it."

"I don't want to talk about it," said Robin. She held up a finger against her lips. "Shhhh."

Chrom guessed that her first time was too embarrassing or awkward to talk about. His first time with Sumia was both embarrassing and awkward. He recalled falling off the bed, hitting his head on something, and breaking something on the way down. Two awfully aroused naked teenagers freaking out was never sexy. It was just embarrassing and awkward.

"Okay, you can keep your secrets," said Chrom.

"What if the condom breaks? I'm not ready to be a parent. Do I want to be parent?"

"Robin, why don't we get you to bed."

"Father would skin me alive if I had a child out of wedlock."

"Well, that's harsh."

"Plegia is super conservative about these things. I know common-law parents is a thing here, but my family would shame me."

Chrom coaxed her up on her feet despite that he was pretty wobbly himself.

"I guess there is the morning-after pill. In the off chance this happens, you are coming with me to the pharmacy. All right, buddy?" said Robin, stabbing a finger into his chest.

"Yes, ma'am. It takes two to tango, so I will accompany you. Bed time now?"

"Bed time," said Robin.

"I'll lend you something to wear," said Chrom.

Chrom took her hand and led her to the bedroom. Robin plopped down on the bed and lied back on the bed.

"This is comfy," said Robin.

Chrom pulled out a plain tee from his dresser. It looked large enough to cover her butt.

"Robin, don't you want to change?" asked Chrom.

"Yes," said Robin, slowly sitting back up. Then, she took her time getting up on her feet. "Can you help me with the zipper?" asked Robin, turning around.

She gathered her hair and brought it over her shoulder. Chrom found the zipper and dragged it down, revealing more of her skin. Without realizing it, he brushed off the straps of her dress. His hands grazed her shoulders and her shoulder blades. There was a little spot on her left shoulder blade. Robin stiffened at his touch.

Right, intimacy issues.

"Relax, it's just me," he said softly, snaking an arm around her waist. He kissed her on the shoulder.

"Chrom?"

"Hmm?" She smelled amazing—soothing and soft, like vanilla and a flower he couldn't name. If he could inhale her scent for hours, he would.

"I need to change. I'm not wearing a bra."

"Sorry, right," he said, stepping back.

Robin slipped on the t-shirt before letting the rest of her dress slip past her hips to the floor. Thankfully, the shirt was long enough to cover her panties. Chrom followed Robin closely as she stumbled her way to the bathroom. He gave her an extra toothbrush that he had bought on sale when he bought his own. They brushed their teeth and Chrom would occasionally steady Robin with a hand on her shoulder when she looked like she was going to tip over.

After, Robin ordered him to get makeup wipes from her bag and made him promise to not judge her no-makeup face. He promised. And eventually, they made it back to the bedroom.

Robin climbed under the covers first, while Chrom checked to see if the door was locked and switched off all the lights. He closed the bedroom door and stripped off his clothes.

"Do you always sleep in your underwear?" asked Robin, propping up on her elbow.

"Do you want me to put something on?" he asked, climbing into bed beside Robin.

"No, it's a nice view. My boyfriend has a nice body. I'm going to tell all my friends," said Robin.

Chrom chuckled and wondered how much Robin would remember the next morning. And how flustered she would be if she knew about what she said and how she behaved. He'd get a kick out of that tomorrow. For now, it was time for sleep.

"Come closer. I'll keep you warm," said Chrom.

He snagged her in his arms and she squeaked. He tightened his embrace and kissed her goodnight on the forehead. Their legs tangled into one another and he sighed contently. It was wonderful having someone to hold at night.

"You're a snuggle bunny," said Robin.

"This is nice," said Chrom.

"Yeah."

"We should do this more often."

"We'll get attached then," murmured Robin, starting to fall asleep. "What if we don't have much time together?"

"We have all the time in the world, duckie," said Chrom. "That reminds me, you know how I told you I'd take you on a surprise date?"

"Yeah, you mentioned it after your ex-girlfriend came up."

"I was originally going to take you to the shooting range, but my sisters told me it wasn't romantic, at all."

Robin's chuckle was laced with sleep. "I went to the shooting range a lot back in Plegia. I'm pretty good."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. Something about self-defense," she murmured, beginning to fall asleep in his arms.

"I thought we could go to my family cottage once it got warmer instead," said Chrom. "We can look at the stars with the telescope, go for a swim in the lake, and get away from the hectic city."

"Mmm…"

"Robin?"

"Hmm?"

"Wanna do that?" His question was drowned out by his yawn. Robin didn't respond. "Robin?"

She stirred and whispered, "Sounds nice."

"Night, love."

"Night, snuggle bunny."


	27. Two-Sided

**Author's Notes:**

(Sorry this is a little long.)

Man, so I totally scrolled through last chapter after posting it. Why? Because apparently I'm a masochist. And it was like spelling mistakes galore. So, if that bothered you a lot, sorry. I tried to proof this one a bit better.

You may also be going "OMFG, SHE UPDATED A WEEK AFTER THE LAST CHAPTER AND NOT A MONTH?! IS THE WORLD FALLING APART?"

Uhh...no...I'm just trying to update more often since I'll be gone for six weeks in the summer AND this is such a massive fic, I'd prefer to be able to finish it early next year. If you're willing to stick around for that long, I'm amazed that you are willing to put up with my filthy, sinning mind. (And Naga bless your poor souls for being tricked into reading my fic.)

On another note. I know guest reviewers leave reviews. THANK YOU FOR THEM. But I can't reply to them. :( I'm not ignoring you. I literally can't reply to them. I know on AO3, you can reply to non-users and I do. So shout-out to you cool peeps.

To the guest reviewer, FicReader, yes. I know the youtubers you're talking about. I love them. They do a great job of being neutral and understanding, yet hilarious job about sharing a culture that isn't theirs. And yes, 'duckie' might be from them. :P I did so much research for pet names because I have like zero expertise in this field. #foreveralone And I really thought 'duckie' was more endearing than 'birdie', which was what I thought of earlier. 'Duckie' came up quite a bit on the interwebz when I was searching for pet names. So I used it. Because it sounds dorky, and Chrom is a dork.

I know. I'm cool. The shit I do for this fic astounds me. Today, for the intimate scene, I spent a good hour on the internet looking up 'love scene vocabulary' for four paragraphs. Yup. Totally cool. Kids, don't be like me.

(This update is for all those who are suffering through exams right now. I wish you luck! And remember, no grade is worth your health. I mean that.)

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Two-Sided**

The short cigarette glowed an angry red when Priam sucked away of what remained of it. Then, he blew the smoke out of his nose. He extinguished the burning stub into the overflowing glass astray, adding it to the pile of cigarette butts and crumbling ashes. Empty, crumpled cigarette packs lied around the ashtray.

He itched for another smoke and he picked up the most recent pack and flipped the lid open. Nothing. He had smoked all of them. Cursing, he checked the other packs and found the same results.

Fuck. He was out of smokes. Well, wasn't that fucking wonderful, he thought. He could got out to a convenience store this early in the morning, but the one nearby didn't carry the brand he liked.

That was enough swimming through his dark thoughts. Priam groaned as he stood up from the couch. The air stunk of smoke and he knew if—no, when—Robin returned, she'd give him an earful. Boy, was he prepared to knock her down a couple pegs as well. Despite how irritated he was, he welcomed her return so he could give her a taste of what his night was like.

He scanned the spacious living room. Leather couches, a glass coffee table, a television apparently he only used, and rug that wasn't originally fuzzy, but became that state because Gold Digger had a habit of rubbing him on it. The design and layout was obviously done by Aversa. Robin would never put in this much effort. She'd use a fucking cardboard box as a coffee table. That's how little she cared.

Actually, where the hell was his damned mutt? Priam hadn't seen a curly tail or heard the familiar clinking side of his pimping gold chain collar. The pug had most likely taken refuge in Robin's room to escape the smell and him. His night wasn't exactly rainbows and unicorns flying over them. Quite the opposite. Whatever, Gold Digger wasn't his biggest concern at the moment.

Priam picked up the phone off the coffee table and checked for new notifications. Even if it was on full volume, there was that unlikely chance that he might've missed something. Alas, there were no new messages or calls on Robin's phone.

How dare she pull this stunt on him? Didn't she know that she wasn't helping anyone by doing this?

A thought flashed in his head. Coffee. He needed coffee. He had been up all night dealing with the wrath of Validar Grima. He was one of the few who could handle it, but that didn't make it easier. The phone landed with a slap against the leather couch when Priam tossed it aside to make coffee.

He lumbered over to the kitchen while rubbing his face. The scruffiness that brushed against his palms reminded him that he needed to shave. He was probably also in a need of a shower, but he probably didn't look as filthy as he felt since his hair was pulled back into a ponytail: something he did whenever he was working a difficult case. Besides, the women he had bedded thought he looked like a sex god in the mornings.

Once in the kitchen, he dropped a coffee capsule into the coffee maker. He retrieved a random cup from the cupboard and placed it under the nozzle, pressed the buttons for the appropriate setting, and walked away to allow the machine to do its job. With scrutiny, he leaned against the kitchen island and watched the coffee maker like it was going to make a mistake too. Just like Robin.

Fuck. It was all a mess.

 _He hadn_ _'t expected to see Robin near the Reeking box tonight, but as fate had had it, he saw Robin running down the street. After some persuasive coercion, he managed to drag her into the office of the Reeking Box. He made it clear to the bouncers that no one were to interrupt them._

 _Priam locked the the door behind him. Robin stood in the middle of the small office, clutching her bag, still in scrubs. When he walked past her, he saw that she was staring at the mess on the large table. Marked maps. A laptop. Stacks of notes._

" _Have a seat. It's soundproof. No one can hear us," said Priam. He sat down in front of the laptop and closed it. "Let's talk. I have a proposition for you."_

 _There were five additional chairs around the table, but he knew she_ _'d sit in the furthest seat from him. As predicted, Robin dragged out the chair on the opposite side of him and grudgingly sat down._

" _It's tacky," she growled._

 _Priam glanced around the room. The office had an unnecessary chandelier and the wallpaper was a dark purple with a golden motif. The Plegians loved their royal violet and gold._

" _It looks just like the Grima Manor. What are you talking about?"_

 _Robin fidgeted in her seat like an anxious schoolgirl. It was starting to put him on edge as well._

" _Hurry up, so I can leave," snapped Robin._

" _Well, this is going to take a while," said Priam._

" _What do you want?" she demanded._

" _Well, with that shit attitude, I don't know if I want to talk now," he said. "Why are you so antsy? Just text the bastard."_

 _It was such a simple solution._

 _Robin_ _'s frown deepened and she pursed her lips at his remark. "My phone died."_

" _So?"_

 _She inhaled slowly and deliberately before speaking again. Priam almost expected her to explode._ _"I had an emergency surgery and I couldn't text him that I couldn't make our…date. So he thinks I stood him up on our first day."_

 _That was it? Priam snorted._

" _It's not funny," she said flatly. "He was right there and you pulled me away."_

" _Little Grima, this world is full of men. Fucking this up with one guy isn't the end of the world. There are tons of guys out there that are probably better or at the very least, similar to him. So why him?"_

" _I don't know." Defeat crossed her face for a brief moment. Then, she bit her lip. "There's this…weird pull. I keep running into him. And he won't stop bothering me in-person, via text, and in my own damned head. Maybe…how do you say it? Get it out of my system?"_

 _He sounded persistent as fuck. But the good news was that Priam could use him._

 _Ever since his arrival in Ylisse, Priam had been trying to figure out a way to get Robin to do the bidding of the Syndicate but lacked an incentive for her. Coercion and fear only went so far. A budding relationship, he could work with. Or whatever the police loser and Robin had was called. He wasn_ _'t sure if they were going to be a thing, but from the sounds of it, the po-po managed to gain Robin's attention._

" _So, what do you want, you perverted man-slut?"_

 _He_ _'d open with a punch. He always did. "Your father wants you back in Plegia soon."_

" _What?"_

 _To taunt her, he repeated the questions extra slow._ _"Your father wants you back in Plegia soon."_

" _I heard you the first time," she said, glaring at him. "Why though?"_

" _Did you honestly think he'd let you off the hook?" asked Priam. "Don' tell me actually believed that securing temporary freedom would mean permanent freedom. You know your father than anyone."_

 _Again, she bit her lips and stared down at the table. A cornered rabbit looked more calm than Robin._

" _Is that why you're here? To fetch me?"_

" _You're going to have to come back eventually."_

" _I know."_

" _You've been here for quite a few years. I'm surprised he hasn't called for your return earlier. No wait, scratch that. Our movements into Ylisse were probably keeping everyone busy."_

" _He doesn't do anything. He sits back and makes everyone else do the dirty work. Even if the Syndicate was brought down, he'd never be charged with criminal offenses. Nothing links back to him."_

 _Of course Validar would set up the Syndicate that way. This wasn_ _'t his first rodeo._

" _Anyway," continued Priam, running a hand through his hair. "The business is Ylisse isn't great. The Triad is being a fucking pain."_

" _When are they not?" hissed Robin._

 _He scoffed at her. Smart little lamb._

" _How much time do I have?" asked Robin._

" _Depends."_

" _Meaning?"_

" _Don't you want to see how things go with Chrome? Crumb? I don't know how to pronounce is fucking name."_

 _He only saw the guy_ _'s name from the brief glance at her phone when he plucked it out of her hand on the drive from the airport. Lon'qu mentioned he was a police officer, and quite a nosy one too. And smart. Nosy and smart was a dangerous combination for a cop in Plegia. They usually got a bullet right between the brows if buying them off wasn't enough to get them off of the Syndicate's back._

" _It's Chrom," Robin corrected._

" _Whatever, don't really care," said Priam. "Don't you want to see how things go?"_

 _A grin spread on Priam_ _'s face when Robin glared at him like she did whenever she wanted something and he was being in the way. It was an expression he saw often whenever he had to babyshit her sorry ass whenever Lawrence was too busy and too paranoid to hire a babysitter he didn't know._

" _We need things sorted out in Ylisse. And I know you can make it go faster."_

" _No. I refuse to help corrupt another fucking country."_

" _You can help us sort our shit out and you can do whatever you want with your little friend and I will exclude it from reporting it to Validar. Also, I'll try to postpone your move for as long as I can. All I need from you is your weekends to learn the situation. From there, you can suggest action plans."_

" _And if I don't?"_

" _I'll have to tell your father about the fling going on right now. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear you fucking the enemy—"_

" _I'm not fucking the enemy."_

" _Oh, and you'd be expected back in Plegia in a matter of weeks," said Priam with a nonchalant shrug. "Up to you."_

 _Furious didn_ _'t even come close to how Robin glowered at him. He was only trying to kill two birds with one stone, but she wouldn't take it like that. Of course, she wouldn't._

" _Wow. Very grown-up of you, Priam. Tattling. At your age."_

" _I'll do what I need to to get my way."_

" _Why are you giving me a choice? I'm rarely given a choice. I have to fight for everything I want."_

" _I don't see why you aren't allowed the opportunity to live your life as a kinda normal woman before you take charge of the Syndicate," said Priam. "You were groomed for this. Your father will never let you go, so think of it as a pity present."_

 _This got to her, but it was the hard truth._

 _This was the same reason why Validar had fought tooth and nail for Robin_ _'s custody. His father-in-law won custody and it infuriated him, but it was agreed that she'd return to her father after high school. Too bad the girl was too smart for own good and graduated early, cutting her time short with Lawrence. It was the same reason why Validar granted permission for her to participate in the grandmaster tournaments for chess and Fire emblem despite that they were heavily publicized. Albeit, she did it under a pseudonym. Estelle Falk. Validar believed honing her strategy skills would be beneficial, even if in-real-life application was much different than a board game._

 _This was her future._

 _Priam knew it had been a while because he was craving a cigarette. The club downstairs was still as loud as ever, the bass resonating throughout the entire building. And Robin sat there staring at the mess spread out on the table. There was a dullness in her eyes and her shoulders were drooped in defeat._

 _Great, she was feeling sorry for herself again. He knocked on the table with his knuckles, but she didn_ _'t move. "Are you even listening? Oi, brat."_

 _Her words came out like a tired sigh._ _"I can hear you."_

" _So what do you say?"_

" _I'll think about it."_

 _He needed a decision soon. He needed to get Validar off his ass; Validar_ _'s patience was running ice-thin. Priam watched her squeeze her eyes shut and release a stressed breath._

 _She threw each word with purpose at him._ _"I'll think about it."_

" _I'll give you a couple days to think about it. But if you know me, which you do, I usually want answers right away."_

" _Priam, please, just stop talking," begged Robin. "Just shut up."_

" _Still rude as ever." He rolled his eyes. She wasn't the only pitiful soul in the world._

" _Just because I asked you to stop talking, doesn't meant I'm being rude," snapped Robin. "You literally have all the freedom in the world to do whatever you want. Someone has always told me what to do with my life ever since I could remember. So let me keep this miniscule amount of control in my life. Let me at least have the ability to tell you to shut the hell up even if you're not going to do it."_

 _He suppressed the urge to laugh. She was so far from being right. Robin sat in front of him, shaking with rage, her eyes glistening with a fresh batch of tears._

 _Wow, did she honestly believe she could hideaway in Ylisse forever?_

" _I'm sorry, little Grima. I'm trying so hard to take you seriously right now and I can't," he said, chuckling dryly._

 _Her sigh was unrestrained, bitter, and shaky. She whipped her head away from Priam. A tear left a wet trail down her cheek and she angrily swiped it away with the back of her hand._

" _Crying's not going to change anything," said Priam. Yet, he had the urge to comfort the damned brat. He had been doing it ever since she was a child. There was a handkerchief in his pocket, so he dug it out and tossed it in front of her._

" _I don't need your pity," spat Robin as he passed her._

 _At the words, he stopped in his steps._ _"You're sorely mistaken, Robin. This isn't pity. It's a choice. You can take the help I've offered you or you can deal with this on your own and try not to drown," he said coolly over his shoulder._

 _There was additional sniffling behind him, but there was no time for this._

" _Let's go home. I'm done for the day. Hurry up, brat. We have to check on Gold Digger. He probably crapped on the floor again. Do you know a vet?"_

 _The chair scrapped against the floor when she stood up. With her head bowed low, she wiped away her tears with the sleeves of her white coat, and then she shoved the handkerchief into her pocket._

" _Yeah, I have a friend who has a clinic," choked Robin._

 _She would come helpful in the future. Showing up at the ER with a bullet wound was never good news. It attracted cops like a light attracted moths at night._

 _He opened the door and the music washed over them like a tsunami._ _"I'll bring the car up near the front. Do you want to come with or do you want to meet me at the front?" he yelled. It might've been a better idea to ask her before he had opened the door._

" _I'll meet you there," said Robin, and they split up._

Priam glared at his watch. It was only ten past six in the morning. The brat was probably asleep god knows where. There was no need to hunt her down. She knew had to take care of herself. Knowing her, she was sleeping over at Phila's or her new boyfriend's place.

The aroma of the coffee nudged him out of his numb state. Priam hooked his fingers onto the handle of the cup and brought it up to his lips. The black liquid warmed him, bringing him a moment of peace.

Man, he thought Validar would've gotten better with age, but was still as ruthless as ever. Priam had to go into full defense attorney-mode to bargain on behalf of Robin, which he knew Validar despised. Something about being patronized and not knowing his place. Spoiled brat was fucking sleeping somewhere in the city without an inkling of what his night was like. To add to that, she even stole one of his wine bottles—the fucking 1983 red from Rosanne's finest vineyards. That was a gift!

Grumbling, he drank his coffee and waited for the caffeine to kick in. Thank the gods for coffee.

* * *

Robin woke up with a start and a gasp. She picked up her head and frantically looked around, but her hair veiled her view. She brushed her hair back with her fingers.

At the sight of her unfamiliar surroundings, she thought, where the hell was she? The room was a quarter of her bedroom and the bedsheets felt different against her bare legs and smelled different too. She squinted and saw the early morning sun peeking through the slit between the curtains.

After the initial shock settled down, her head pounded and she laid it back down. There was a light snoring behind her. An arm tightened around her waist. She tensed, then she relaxed. Right, she slept over at Chrom's.

She heaved a sigh and rolled over to face Chrom with care, so not to wake him. His blue bangs were splayed across his forehead. Her fingers brushed them to aside to get a better look at his eyes. Chrom stirred and she immediately withdrew her hand.

Robin envied him. He looked like he was a good sleeper, if that made any sense. She bet that he got a good night's sleep most nights, if not all nights. His face was relaxed and he was just so into his dreamland. She wondered what a good night's sleep would be like. Her nights were filled with weird dreams and she woke up often.

On a more basal note, her body begged for water. She was parched. She groaned because she didn't want to get out of bed. Carefully, she lifted his arm off of her, but he snuggled into her more, trapping her. There was a faint, happy sigh and then more snoring.

"Chrom," whispered Robin. She poked him on the stomach. "Chrom."

"Ouch," he hissed, waking up.

"Did I hurt you?" asked Robin. It was just a poke!

"Mmm…the bruises. Sully and her birthday beatings," Chrom grumbled. "You're up early."

"I need water and you won't let me go," said Robin. "I'm sorry about poking you."

Chuckling, he buried his face into her neck. "Mmm…"

Her voice sounded hoarse and scratchy. "Chrom, I need water. I'm so dehydrated right now." Robin stroked Chrom's head. His blue hair was surprisingly soft.

He said something into her neck and it tickled.

"I have no idea what you said."

Chrom shifted his head. "I said, Keep doing that. It feels nice."

"I'll do it after I get a glass of water, snuggle bunny," said Robin. "Or at least let me go so I can get some water."

"Will you come back to bed after?" he asked.

"Probably not. I need to get going," said Robin.

He released her and sat up. His back curved forward as he yawned and rubbed the sleep away from his face. Without realizing it, Robin reached out a hand to touch him and traced a finger down his spine.

"Babe, you're giving me mixed signals. Do you want me to stay or go?"

Robin laughed lightly and stopped. "Ah, sorry. I want water."

"Mmkay."

Eventually, Chrom left the warmth of their nest. Robin listened him to shuffle around in the kitchen to complete his task. After the fridge door closed, his footsteps approached the room. The door opened and Chrom returned with two mugs. On a more careful inspection, she saw the bruises that took away from his nicely sculpted body. Frowning, she sat up.

"What?"

"You're bruising…"

"I heal pretty fast. It's okay. Awwe, duckie, stop giving me that look." Chrom offered her a mug of water. Robin accepted it, but didn't drink it. "It looks worse than it actually is." He climbed back into bed with her. "Please stop worrying."

Robin hummed and then drank her water. The cool liquid tasted delicious. She gulped down her entire cup with a ravenous appetite. When her thirst was quenched, Chrom took the cup from her and set it aside on the bedside table.

He tugged at her wrist, urging her to lie down with him. She gave in. Lying there side-by-side, she noticed that they were very close. It wasn't helping her headache.

"I don't think you slept well last night," said Chrom.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Hell, even I woke up a couple times," he said.

"Did I kick you?"

"Do you usually kick?"

"Sometimes. When I'm hogging the blankets. I'm actually surprised that we were sharing the blanket."

"No, we both took turns hogging the blanket," said Chrom, laughing. "And when I tried to cuddle up against you, you'd shift away to the edge of the bed. But then you'd return for the blanket."

"Ah."

"So in the end, I literally had to hold you tight so you wouldn't escape or fight me for the blanket."

"If it bothers you that much, I can sleep on the couch next time," offered Robin.

"What? No!"

She was taken aback at his reaction. What the hell did he want then?

"I like a challenge. And you are not allowed to sleep on the couch, even if it means we are going to fight for the blanket in our sleep."

"Mmhmm…"

"I'll just have to hold you tighter next time," said Chrom with a grin.

She blushed. Frigging hangover. Frigging Chrom.

"Damn it, Chrom," muttered Robin.

He kissed her on the forehead. "Are we going to go back to bed?"

"How drunk was I? Last night."

"Mmm…pretty drunk." His heavy lids began to close.

Hesitation held her words hostage. Shit. Shit. Shit. She couldn't remember anything. What did she say? What did she do?

"So…you wanna tell me what happened?"

He opened his sleepy eyes. "You don't remember?"

She licked her lips nervously and shook her head. Not drinking to the point where she couldn't remember the night before was something that needed serious work. Then a thought crossed her head: how far did they go? Panic rose in her chest. She was wearing only his t-shirt and her panties.

"We had a pretty eventful night."

"E-eventful?"

"Yeah. I learned that you like being on top."

Did they use protection? Did he have any STIs that she didn't know about? Shit, did she need to run to the pharmacy right now? Robin searched his face for more hints, but all she saw was his goofy, tired smile.

"Robin, relax. All we did was eat cake and drink that nice bottle of wine you brought. Well, you drank most of it. Other than that, you shared your secrets," said Chrom. "Can we talk about this after we get another hour of sleep?"

"What secrets?"

Chrom was falling asleep again. Robin poked him in the stomach and he made a funny sound and flexed his abs.

"Stop showing off that you workout! I know that you look good with your stupidly perfect abs. You're making me feel bad that all I have is flab. And what secrets? What did I tell you?" Robin poked him again. Screw his bruises, she needed to wake him up.

"Stop that," said Chrom, withdrawing her.

"What did I tell you?" demanded Robin, continuing to harass her poor boyfriend.

After failing to escape Robin, he grabbed her hand. Too bad for him, humans have two hands. But before she could even attack, he took hold of her other hand.

"Nope! Not happening!" Next thing she knew, he had her pinned underneath him. "That seriously hurts. I think you got one of my bruises." Her chest rose and fell as she lied beneath Chrom. "Are you going to stop poking me?"

"Depends. Are you going to tell me what happened last night? Did we…?" She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Did she end up bawling her eyes out after? Did she tell him what happened?

"No, you said you wanted to wait," said Chrom. "Robin, I'd never take advantage of you. It's wrong." He let her go and settled in beside her.

"Oh."

"You seriously don't remember anything?"

"I don't."

"You really shouldn't drink."

"I know. Was there anything else?" Chrom pretended to think. "Stop teasing me."

"But I'm having fun," he said. Chrom smiled like he was laughing at an inside joke between them, but she had no idea what it was.

She groaned and wanted to disappear. "Why are you smiling like that? What else did I do?"

"I don't think you want to know."

"Just tell me. Be done with it."

"Nah, I think I'll keep it to myself. Excellent blackmail material." He turned over to his other side and his back faced her.

"Don't go back to sleep!" He snored extra loud to emphasize he was sleeping. "I know you're faking it! Chrom, I'm serious! And you're a cop! Blackmailing is illegal!"

After a while, Robin's impatience grew and she tried to turn him over, but he wouldn't budge.

"Damn it, Chrom! I'm hungover and I'm tired. Cooperate with me here!" She swung a leg over him to wrestle him. He didn't move, so she climbed up on top. She must've hit a bruise by accident, because he flipped onto his back. Robin settled on top of him triumphantly.

"See? You enjoy being on top."

"Stop that!"

"Stop what?"

"Making me get all flustered! It's too early in the morning."

He tittered at her. "Okay. Fine. Ask your questions. Interrogate me. I shall cooperate and answer."

Finally. She had him. "Is there anything else I said?"

"Besides the talk on wanting to wait, you rambled about your inexperience. You didn't really want to talk about it more, which is understandable."

Oh thank the gods, thought Robin.

"Then, you told me that before we have sex, I need to get tested, and when I asked why you're not being tested, you said that your vagina is a happy place."

"Oh my fucking gods," said Robin, covering her face with her hands. "Please tell me that is a joke."

"Nope."

She could hear the amusement. He was _enjoying_ this.

"Please tell me that was all I saw," she begged from behind her hands. The last thing she needed was Chrom knowing about her…history. The dark memories made her heart clench.

Chrom's laughter rang in her ears, and it reassured her a little. "We debated about prostitution for some reason. Hey, it's okay. You were heavily intoxicated." He removed her hands from face and held them in his.

"Stop talking like that. I'm expecting you to whip out handcuffs any second now."

"Only if you want me to," said Chrom.

That shut her up.

Chrom sat up and held Robin against him. "I'm kidding. Relax." She felt his nose against his cheek. His lips found their way to hers. "Thank you for coming last night."

Robin pouted at him, then did her best to brush aside her embarrassment. "I needed the company more than you. I'm sorry I ruined your birthday."

"Not at all. I had a lot of fun."

There were still remnants of his earlier fun in his smile and there was something else that Robin couldn't quite put a finger on. His smile faded away and Chrom rested his forehead against her and brushed his lips against hers.

Hesitantly, she accepted to his invitation by parting her lips for him and sliding her arms over his sturdy, broad shoulders. A hand on her back roamed down her back, causing her to arch her back. Every touch incited her body to react. It was foreign, yet intriguing.

He continued down lower and he gave her ass a little squeeze. She interrupted their kiss with gasp and shifted her hips at the surprise. Chrom barely stifled his strained moan.

"Was that too much?" His breath was hot against her cheek.

She swallowed. "No, I just wasn't expecting it."

He always left her light-headed, hungover or not. His touches were always hot against her, even more so when it was bare skin. Did he know he had that effect on her? How he made her want to surrender to him with every kiss?

Underneath her fingertips, she felt his muscles tense when he held her even closer. With hazy thoughts, she locked lips with him again. He embraced her with adoration and warmth. Again, his hands explored her body like a zephyr caressing a spring blossom.

Chrom left her craving for his taste in her mouth and moved to her neck. Her breathing grew heavy, marked with sharp, staccato sighs. Every nip and suck grew greedier than the last, winding her up more and more. The sensation terrified her, yet aroused her.

"C-Chrom," she breathed.

"Tell me when you want to stop," he whispered in a husky voice.

When he lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist to hold on. And he laid her on her back and settled in between her legs. Chrom gave her a quick peck on the lips before trailing down her neck and collarbones, trying to draw out a moan, but she fought them down.

Robin giggled and played with his hair. "What happened to wanting to sleep?"

"I'd rather…" He nipped at her collarbone.

"Mmm…"

"Be…" His tongue glided across.

She exhaled a repressed breath in a short burst.

"Doing this."

For a brief moment of lucidity—before she arched her back again—she understood why sex was so primal. She was literally fighting her body which was giving into its instincts and ignoring her senses and logic. Or maybe this was because she was hungover.

Her t-shirt began to ride up to her waist with Chrom's curious hand. Soon, she could feel his chest against her stomach. The hem of her t-shirt teased her by lingering right beneath her breasts. Robin's fingers dug into his arm.

Suddenly, a hardness against her inner thigh made her blood go cold. And then the harsh reality was that they were mere layers of going all the way gripped her. Fear flooded her and her dark thoughts taunted her. Would he stop? Was he going to hurt her? Was he going to stop if she asked him?

"Chrom," said Robin.

"Hmm?" Thankfully, he paused for a moment and looked up at her.

"Do you…do you want to open your present?" she asked nervously.

"I thought you were my present," he joked.

Her smile was stiff and brief. His brow furrowed and he looked like he was about to fret over her like a mother hen. Chrom got up and sat on the bed, allowing her to get up.

Robin got up too. She hated how her hands trembled as she pulled down the shirt to cover her navel.

"Hey, I'm so sorry," said Chrom. "I promised that we'd take it slow and—"

"It's fine, Chrom. You told me to tell you when to stop. And I was enjoying it. I just…yeah." Guilt engraved itself into his crumpled expression. "Hey." Robin touched his arms. "I'm fine. Seriously. I just need to get going and we should open your present before I head home."

"Okay."

"You're pretty smooth when you're sleep-deprived," she said quietly.

"What are you talking about? I'm always smooth."

"No, snuggle bunny, you're really not. Remember how you asked me out?" She pecked him the cheek, which was artificially tinged red from her lipstick the night before. "And you make terrible puns with our names." Robin left his side and crawled off of the bed. If she didn't leave first, they'd be making out all morning.

"I think they're great. Like how Chrom you're leaving my side?" asked Chrom. "See? Brilliant."

Robin shot him a flat, exasperated look over her shoulder. "Chrom, no. Stop. You're ruining everything."

"It's hilarious!" shouted Chrom, throwing the blanket aside and following after her.

Robin rolled her eyes as she walked over to the present leaning against the wall in the living room. When he swung an arm over her shoulder, she glanced over at him.

"Chrom, go put a t-shirt on," said Robin.

"Why? Am I making your heart th-Robin for me? See? I'm on a roll," said Chrom.

Robin pinched his side. "Go put a t-shirt on!"

"Naga! Okay! Let go!"

She released him and glared at him.

"I shall put on a shirt for the lady," he said. He left only after kissing her on the temple.

She pouted, feeling bad about pinching him now. But he was asking for it with those horrible puns.

Chrom returned by her side with a t-shirt on. "Okay, I am clothed. How would we open it?"

Robin's lips pulled to one side. The photograph canvas was wrapped in bubble wrap and brown paper. It looked like the people who sent it layered it in alternating directions. She was too exhausted to figure it out, so she sat down on the floor and crossed her legs.

"It's your gift. I think you should have the honour of opening it," she said.

"No, that's not fair. You have to help me," said Chrom, trying to lift her back onto her feet.

"No!" she whined. "Let me sit and watch you struggle."

"Oh. I see how it is," said Chrom.

"Yeah." She shot him a cheeky grin. "Besides, you're capable and strong. You'll be done in mere seconds. I believe in you."

He huffed at her comment and accepted his role. Wow, Aversa was right. Flattery worked really well with men.

Chrom disappeared again and reappeared armed with a yellow utility knife. He clicked the blade up and started at the top of the rectangle and slit across.

Robin clapped for him. "Wow, snuggle bunny. Look at you go!"

Chrom stopped and looked at her. "Are you going to keep calling me that?"

"What? You call me every pet name in the world. What's wrong with 'snuggle bunny'. You're obsessed with snuggling. And we started cuddling like yesterday."

"It makes me sound soft and unintimidating," said Chrom.

"Chrom, you're a frigging cop. That's pretty intimidating and might I add, kinda unlikeable to the general public."

"I'm only unlikeable if you did something wrong. And I'm only doing my job."

"I know. But I'm still going to keep calling you that. By the way, you may need some scissors. And be careful, don't damage the present."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't give me lip." Robin stuck out the tip of her tongue.

Chrom hunted down a pair of scissors and after watching him fail at unwrapping his gift, Robin intervened and snipped away at the bubble wrap.

"You're really good at this. Must be all those hours in surgery," praised Chrom.

"Chrom, it's just bubble wrap. Not an appy."

"A what?"

"Sorry. Appendectomy. It's where you surgically remove an appendix."

"See? You're really smart, duckie."

"If you went to med school, you'd know this too. Not that amazing."

"Just take the compliment or I'll shower you in more compliments."

Robin gave him a funny look, but said, "Thank you. You're sweet."

"There you go." He faced the present and began to tear away the plastic. "Let's see what it is."

When the last bit of plastic was gone, Chrom took a step back and studied the gift. Robin's eyes flicked back and forth between Chrom and the canvas.

Did he not recognize it? It was the photograph at the exhibition. The one where it was a field at the Plegian-Ylissean border where the photographer captured the blue skies and the wind blowing the tall grasses to one side. They shared an undeniable moment together.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

Chrom took her hand and squeezed it, his eyes never leaving the photo. His Adam's apple bobbed.

"Chrom?"

"It's wonderful."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her. She sighed in relief. "For a moment there, I wasn't sure."

"No, this is an amazing gift, Robin," said Chrom.

"I'm glad you like it. There should be a title piece with the photograph. They said they would include it," said Robin. "It must've gotten lost in the wrapping." She knelt down on the floor and ruffled through the bubble wrap and paper. After some searching with Chrom, she found a small white rectangle and held it up like a prize. "Found it!"

They got back on their feet and read the print on the rectangle. _A New Beginning: A field at the Plegian-Ylissean border._

"It still feels so nostalgic, yet I've never been there," said Robin. It was the same way she felt when she first saw it.

"It feels like hope for me," said Chrom.

The two held each other's hand and admired the artwork in silence. But it didn't last long because Robin cut the moment short.

"I should get going."

Chrom tore his eyes away from the piece. "Can't you stay for breakfast?"

"Next time. I really need to get going," said Robin, pulling her hand away from him.

"Let me give you a ride."

"I can take a cab," said Robin, grabbing her bag from the couch. She checked to see if she had her wallet on her and she did.

"Baby, you're dressed in a t-shirt and you're going to leave in your high heels."

He had a fair point. She'd change into her dress from the night before. Walk of shame it is, she decided. That was a little better than a men's t-shirt. "Where's my dress?"

"In the bedroom."

Robin walked past him, but she didn't get far because he grabbed her hand.

"Let me give you a ride home. I'm not letting you leave until you agree." There was a serious earnestness in his voice that was hard to dismiss.

"Fine. Just to in front of my place. You're not escorting me all the way to my bedroom or something."

"Do you want me to pinky promise?" He extended a pinky to her.

Robin stared at his pinky and back at him.

"What? My little sister makes me do it all the time."

"Okay," said Robin, linking her pinky with Chrom's.

As she pulled away, he tightened his pinky around hers and said, "You have to stamp it."

"Stamp what?"

"The thumbs. Gotta seal the deal."

"You're really weird," she said, stamping her thumb against his with their linked pinkies in place.

"I'm not the one who said my vagina was a happy place."

"Chrom, I swear to the gods, if you ever bring that up again, I will end you."

* * *

Robin stood in front of her door, her hand hovering over the cover of the keypad. All she had to do was slide it up, press in 0-3-2-3. That's all she had to do. Priam already knew Robin was home since Gold Digger was barking on the other side of the door. The beeping sounds of the buttons wouldn't make a difference in notifying that she was home.

Chrom's absence sobered her up to reality, even with her hangover-clouded mind. She slid the keypad cover up and it clicked into place. Using her index finger, she pressed 0-3-2-3 slowly and then slid the cover down. The lock sang a little tune and the electronic gears of the lock turned. Taking in a deep breath, she turned the handle and pulled.

The air in her condo stung her eyes and it stank of cigarettes. Damn Priam. He was smoking inside again. She kept telling him this was Plegia.

Gold Digger greeted her like he hadn't seen her in months. He panted like he had played fetch with her for over an hour—although he never abided by the rules of fetch, such as dropping the damn ball when asked to or actually retrieving the ball half the time. And his tail wagged like a windup toy whose tension had just been released. Standing on his hind legs, he jumped up, expressing his undying, loyal love for Robin as she put down her bag. Gold Digger immediately diverted his attention to the bag and sniffed it. He huffed at her. He disapproved of the smell. Then, he pawed at the bag.

"Hey! Stop that, Aversa would kill me if she saw a scratch on that leather bag," snapped Robin, slipping off her shoes.

He huffed again and then settled down in front of her and stared up at her with his bugging eyes.

"What? I'm fine."

The pug whined this time.

Robin picked up her shoes and put them in the closet. "Stop that. You're making me nervous." She picked up Gold Digger in her arms and cradled him. "Stupid dog." Gold Digger smiled at her with his tongue jutting out to one side.

Carefully, she crept into her condo, her eyes darting side-to-side wondering where Priam was. He was probably waiting to give her an earful. She took a deep breath in and exhaled it slowly. She coughed and waved her hand in front of her trying to disperse the polluted air.

She didn't anything wrong. Right? She didn't.

"Thought you'd never come back."

Robin winced at the words. "I thought I told you smoke on the balcony."

A tall blue-haired man appeared from the general direction of the kitchen. Priam was wearing dark trousers and a tucked-in, crumpled dress shirt. In one hand, he was had a cup of coffee, most likely to counter the fatigue deep on his face and the five o'clock shadow darkening his face. Even his messy hair was tied back: a sign he had been burning the midnight oil.

"Do you know how rough my night was?" asked Priam. There was a lace of annoyance and malice in his voice.

"I…have an idea," said Robin, putting Gold Digger down. "How many packs did you smoke? My eyes are watering."

"I don't understand why you couldn't be diplomatic about his visit," said Priam. "It's not that hard. Just put your tail between your legs and go along with his wishes when he says them, but persuade him slowly later. You know that's how you work with him. You know that.

"Why? What did he say this time? That he wants your ass back in Plegia? Was that what made you lose your temper and infuriate your father? He says that to you. Every. Time. He. Visits. You also added endless fuel to his anger by not responding to his fucking calls either! Great move, little Grima. Great fucking move. They're right about you. You're an absolute genius."

"He meant it this time," said Robin. "He honestly meant it!"

"Robin, this is inevitable," said Priam, closing the distance between them. He held an accusing finger at her in front of her face. "You going back to Plegia is fucking inevitable. All I can do is postpone it and persuade him that staying her longer is good for you."

She wanted to scream and unleash her bottled frustration. But instead, she allowed it to manifest into shaking, clenched fists with her nails digging into her palms. "So it's my fault then."

"Of course, this is your fault!"

She heaved a sigh and lowered her gaze. "Okay, I'm assuming you did damage control, seeing how it looks like you pulled an all-nighter. You always lose your shit and take your anger at me when you haven't slept."

"Not gonna lie. I'm going to give it to you straight. I had a lot of difficulty persuading your father this time," said Priam. "Because he was so angry that he was calm."

That was an petrifying sign. When her father was calm after being defied, it already meant he had something in mind and there was no way changing his mind. It rarely happened, but when it did, the apocalypse seemed like a better option than dealing with her father.

"What did you…?" The rest of the question got caught in her throat. She took a deep breath and let it go, steeling her mind, bracing herself for the worst. Robin met Priam's eyes.

"What did you promise him?"

Priam broke eye contact and stared off into the view behind her. He sipped his coffee and sipped it again. Usually, Priam gloated about how amazing he was in winning arguments and persuading the other party, but none of that confidence was present. He couldn't even look at her.

"Tell me!" she shouted. "What did you promise him?"

He licked his lips and stared down at her, or maybe that was the height, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that she was vulnerable and scared.

"He's giving you a hundred days. Today is day one," said Priam. "Your ticket for September 5th was booked last night."

Robin's knees went weak, but she stood her ground. That wasn't enough to placate her father. He always needed more. He always had to have more benefits in a deal.

"What else?" asked Robin. "That's not enough to satisfy him."

"You need to figure out a way to stabilize the Syndicate's presence and business in Ylisse within those one hundred days," said Priam. "Weekends aren't going to cut it anymore. You're going to have to get your hands dirty."

All the air left her lungs, and she screwed her eyes shut. It was going to be like her summers in med school all over again, but this time it was a more hands-on application in a new environment. A part of her saw this coming, but she had ignored it. She didn't want to believe it.

"You'll need to quit your job ASAP," said Priam. "You can't do both."

"They'll get suspicious. Someone was fucking murdered, Priam," said Robin.

"Make up an excuse. Tell them you're burntout or get fired. Whichever one is faster," said Priam.

"Give me a couple weeks. I'll take care of it," said Robin.

"That's it? You're not going to fight me like you always do?" asked Priam, mildly surprised.

"No, because fighting my ally isn't going to help me. And I know this was the best you could do. If I were the one who had to deal with Father, I'd be on a plane to Plegia right this moment," said Robin. "I've avoided this long enough."

Chrom.

"Priam?"

He downed the rest of his coffee before answering. "What?"

"What about Chrom? Should I break it off? Should I tell him we don't have much time?"

Priam put a hand on her shoulder. "That's up to you. He was part of our original deal, but that's all off the table at this point. I won't say a word to Validad about him. If you can handle not getting too attached, do whatever you want. But remember, little Grima, keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer."

And with that, he went back to the kitchen with the coffee mug swinging in his hand. "I need some sleep. I'll talk to you after I get some shut eye."

"Okay."

Robin watched Priam emerge from the kitchen and walk over to his room.

"Priam?"

"What, brat?"

"Thank you."

Priam stopped at his door and turned his head to look at her. She couldn't read the face he was giving her. Was it pity or remorse? He sighed, something he didn't do often. He must be really tired. Without another words nor a snarky remark, he disappeared into his room.

Gold Digger pawed at Robin's feet and whined. She bent down and picked him up. Absentmindedly, she stroked his fur.

Did she tell him that their days were numbered? And even if he wanted to continue seeing her, was it fair to him?

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** So, a problem I personally noticed is that some of the words I use get SO REPETITIVE. It gets particularly difficult to vary things up when the chapters get so long. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve on that? I'm already abusing a thesaurus when I can.

Also, is the flow okay? Sometimes the flow seems weird. Construction criticism is much appreciated.

Thank you for reading Pursuit, always. Until next time.

There's some exciting news. Someone approached me asking if they could draw a web comic of Pursuit. You'll be hearing more updates in due time. :D


	28. By My Side (Part 4):First-Move Advantage

**m.r. notes:**

Thanks for the wait everyone. :) Just a heads up, I decided to put trigger warnings for this chapter. If you think I should have additional trigger warnings let me know. I think this is my longest chapter yet...

 **Trigger warnings:** mention of homophobia, mention of forced sex/rape, blood

* * *

 **Chapter 28  
By My Side (Part 4): First-Move Advantage**

An unbearable grittiness rubbed between the inside of Lon'qu's shoes and his socks as he drove. In the distance, there were rows upon rows of orchard trees against the backdrop of the low, rocky Plegian mountains. The sun visor was flipped out on the driver's side, but not so on the front passenger's side. Air conditioning was the only save grace of driving in the glaring sun.

Beside him, there was a soft gasp—the first sound Robin had made since leaving the beach in Sable for the long drive to Plegia's capital, Goetia. Up until now, the only sound in the car was the sigh of the air conditioner blasting at maximum setting for Lon'qu's sanity.

He felt obligated to ask about her gasp, so he did. "Is something the matter, Miss Grima?"

"The orchards," she said in awe. "I completely forgot that this province was famous for their fruit. We should make a couple stops." She shivered after speaking and rubbed her arms.

"We've already wasted enough time at the beach, Miss Grima," he said.

At the mention of the beach, he was reminded of the sand in his shoes once again. Lon'qu pursed his lips. Only a shower and buying a new pair of shoes would resolve this gritty feeling.

"Oh, okay," she murmured and rested her head against the window.

Lon'qu glanced over at her and restrained from giving her an irritated scowl. She looked like a child who was denied a pony for her birthday.

He asked, "Is there something you need, Miss Grima?"

"Why are you asking? We're already _late_ , according to your strict schedule," she said. Robin didn't budge from her dejected slouch.

There was no denying that Robin had improved and was well enough to go home, but Lon'qu found himself more enthusiastic about running through an active war zone with mines than conversing with Robin. He never knew when he'd say something wrong; he never knew what would set her off. Sometimes, out of frustration, he had the urge to yell at her to grow up and that the world didn't revolve around her, but he never did. She didn't deserve to hear that, especially when he knew she wasn't actually that bad. It was simply that he couldn't read her moods well enough, nor know how to counter them.

The silence dragged on like the fields of orchards on their drive. His hands tightened around the steering wheel.

He was not going to cave. He could withstand six more hours of this. He could withstand _days_ of silence.

Robin sighed again and sank even lower into her seat. The left sleeve of her white blouse slipped off, revealing her bra strap and skin. A small mole marked her smooth skin, right in the center of her left shoulder blade.

His eyes darted back and forth from the road to the beauty mark begging for his attention. Distractions were the last thing he needed while he was driving. She might as well take her top off if she was going torment him like this. What difference did it make?

He cleared his throat in hopes that she'd get the hint and cover herself properly. She didn't stir. He tried again.

"What? If you have something to say, spit it out," said Robin.

"Your shirt," he said. "Miss Grima."

To his relief, she slipped the sleeve back onto her shoulder and sat up straight. Then, the silence returned. It was brooding and heavy. He hadn't done anything wrong, but it felt like he had committed an unforgivable sin. She was waging psychological warfare with him.

He began to sweat even with the air conditioner cooling the interior of the car. His muscles were tense, prepared for an attack. The enemy—an underweight Plegian woman who could pass as a teen—sat beside him, plotting to hurl scalding words at him.

And in that moment, Lon'qu learned that not all silences were the same. If he had to endure this kind of silence for days, he would go crazy. He, for one, decided that today would not be that day. He would make the first move.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

Robin turned her head slowly to look at him with flabbergasted frown. "Excuse me?"

Great, he exacerbated the situation. It continued to become hotter and hotter in the car. Damn this country and its hot weather. Damn this country and its fiery women.

"My apologies," he said near-grudgingly. "I didn't mean to come off as rude, Miss Grima." He hoped that this would be enough to assuage her rage.

Lon'qu thought all those years of training with the Khans would've helped him control his emotions better, but he was wrong. With great reluctance, he acknowledged that he still had a long ways to go. Flavia did point out that his young age and personal history could prove to be a challenge, but she believed that it would get better with time. The current situation wasn't doing a fantastic job of supporting Flavia's predictions.

"It's just," started Robin. "It's just…this is the last month for figs."

Figs.

This was about figs.

He wanted to slam his head into the steering wheel. Robin had gorged him and herself figs the entire summer to no end. It almost made him wonder if she had an addiction. If she had been hooked on chocolate or chips or fast food and not figs, he would be fat right now. That was how much she fed him figs. When he declined, she'd force him to eat it like a doting grandmother who insisted growing boys needed to eat despite that he was a full-grown adult man.

"Wait, do you even like figs?" asked Robin. "Oh gods, please don't tell me you ate all those figs because you thought I was going to have a mental breakdown if you didn't appease my every demand." She sneezed. "Excuse me."

"No," he blurted.

He didn't want the torturous silence to return—the silence where Robin was strangling him with her mind. He shook his head to repel the thought. He was losing his edge. Maybe a stop was a good idea.

"The figs were good," said Lon'qu.

"Does that mean we'll make a stop?" asked Robin.

There was no way getting around this. He sighed and gave in. "Fine, Miss Grima."

She hummed a note of satisfaction. Robin scanned the road up ahead and pointed to a fruit stand in the far distance. "Why don't we stop there?"

Lon'qu slowed and parked in the clearing of the fruit stand. A cloud of dust surrounded the vehicle. He was about to suggest to Robin to wait until it settled, but Robin had already unclipped her seatbelt and jumped out of the car.

Through the front window, he watched her bask in the sun. Eyes closed and arms stretched out. She relished under the sunlight. After, she did a funny shimmy where she pulled her pants up and made her way to the fruit stand. Lon'qu, on the other hand, stayed in his seat a little longer before braving the desert sun; however, he began to become uncomfortable when the Grima girl was about ten, now eleven, meters away from him. He needed to be closer to her to be effective.

The moment he opened the door, the heat evaporated away the cool of the air conditioner. Grumbling, Lon'qu got out of the car, locked the door, and went to keep an eye on Robin.

A plump woman wearing a large straw hat greeted Robin and came around the counter. When the woman approached, he saw Robin take half a step back, but then relax and return her greeting. Compared to the woman's large girth, Robin looked like a sickly, human stick.

Lon'qu stood behind Robin and watched the two interact. The owner rambled about how great the harvest was this year thanks to the 'amazing sun', as she put it. Robin politely nodded every couple sentences like a metronome to let the woman know she had her undivided attention, yet she'd occasionally glance over at the figs. Robin didn't want to talk. She wanted to make her purchase and leave.

"And where are you headed?" asked the woman.

The parched dirt underneath Lon'qu's soles crunched when he shifted. He was sweating already. He had managed to find refuge under the shade of the fruit stand beside Robin, but it was still scorching. He could see the heat waves in the air through his sunglasses.

"We're going to Goetia," said Robin quietly. She began to inch towards the box of figs.

"That's a long way!" remarked the woman.

"Yes." Robin tucked a short lock of obsidian hair behind her ear. She pointed to the figs and asked, "Do you think they'll be okay on the drive home?"

"Of course," said the woman with a confident smile. "My figs are best in the area. How many boxes would you like? I'll pick them out for you."

"Two," said Robin.

The owner lifted two boxes out from the display and held them against her bosom. "Do you need anything else, dear?"

"No, that's all."

"Lemme ring you up at the register," she said.

Robin and Lon'qu followed the woman to the worn, wooden counter. She set down the boxes, shuffled behind the counter, and punched in the buttons at the register.

"That'll be twenty G, dearie."

The Grima girl with choppy hair looked to Lon'qu. He stared back at her through his black sunglasses. She pointed her chin to the woman and he frowned.

"Don't keep her waiting," said Robin. "Priam will pay you back."

Above his frames, Lon'qu's dark brows knitted into one another. Robin crossed her arms and stared back at him. Reluctantly, he pulled out his wallet and handed the woman the exact amount.

The owner accepted the money and put it into the register. "Are you two on a road trip? You two look like a lovely couple."

Lon'qu waited for Robin to answer, but she didn't say anything.

"We're coming back from visiting a friend," said Lon'qu. He reached over and retrieved the stacked boxes of figs. "Have a nice day."

And with that, Lon'qu made a beeline to the car, minimizing the steps he needed to take in the sun from the fruit stand. Robin trailed after him. At the car, he balanced the figs in one hand as he opened the back door. He placed the figs in the backseat and then slammed the door shut. He opened the driver seat and hopped in. It felt much safer inside the car than out in the heat. Now, they could finally head to Goetia. They'd be two hours and seventeen minutes later than his original estimated time, but it was better than nothing.

He stabbed the key into the keyhole and turned it. The car rumbled alive. Lon'qu changed the gear of the car and began to reverse. Abruptly, he slammed his foot onto the brakes. He nearly forgot the Grima girl.

Robin stood outside of the car and watched him. From her narrowed eyes, he could tell she thought he was going to leave her here.

"Get in the car!" he shouted, without opening a single window.

Robin rolled her eyes and did as she was told. "I wanted more sun," she said while buckling in her seat belt.

"We're late," he snapped. "By a lot."

He felt Robin's eyes probing him. "You don't do well in the heat, do you?"

Was she asking a rhetoric question? Or did she honestly not see how he sweat at ridiculous proportiosn under the Plegian sun? _Any_ human being would be drenched during a Plegian summer. Except the Plegians. They loved the heat from hell.

"No, Miss," he said through gritted teeth. "No."

"Foreigners don't fare well during the summer here. I don't know why they come to visit Plegia during the summer, when spring or fall are much better times," said Robin, shuddering. She rubbed her arms a couple times before crossing them tight against her chest.

It dawned on him: she was cold. Earlier, Robin had turned all the AC vents away from her. Why didn't she say anything? Maybe this was her way of being considerate. He felt a tinge of guilt.

There was no way he was turning down the AC. He even rolled up his sleeves, ripped off his tie, and undid the first couple buttons of his shirt. He never did that. If he had it his way, he'd spend the entire summer in one of those industrial freezers at the back of a restaurant only in his underwear.

Lon'qu reached his arm back to the backseat and grabbed his black jacket. He tossed it into her lap. "Here."

"Thanks," she murmured while slipping her arms into jacket. She hugged the back of the jacket against her chest.

"You're welcome, Miss."

* * *

The crystals of the excessive chandelier that hung in the lobby of the Fell Manor were the closest Robin was going to get to stargazing. Thus, to the horror and dismay of the servants of the house, she had decided to lie on the cold, sterile floor and glare at the damned light fixture. Was it uncouth of her? Absolutely. Was it childish? Totally. It was an immature rebellion that would go unmarked on her father's grip on her life, but at least she was doing _something_.

Besides, all the servants and staff were gone for the weekend now. They were allowed a free weekend once a month and the house was empty. Except for Robin and the new bodyguard.

Her father deemed it necessary that his 'commodity' required a curfew of sundown too. She couldn't even recall whether her grandfather had even given her a curfew. Then again, she rarely stayed out late and if she was outside, it was to learn the constellations with her grandfather in the backyard or to enjoy a meteor shower and make wishes that would never come true.

Robin's eyes flicked down to the left staircase that led to the second floor. A man in a tacky suit that was ill-fitted stood by. His sneering face was attached to a thick neck that had soaked the collar of his shirt into a darker shade. His beady eyes kept darting around and it made Robin uneasy. In addition to her new curfew, she was also not allowed to leave the premises without an armed chaperon. He was only temporary until a more suitable candidate was found. She missed Lon'qu. He was much easier on the eyes and he actually answered her questions, unlike Mr. Tough.

Robin tilted her head back against the floor when she heard footsteps. An upside-down Priam walked towards her and stopped right above her head.

"Brat, what are you doing on the floor?"

"You're blocking my view."

"And the maids were okay to leave you be like this?"

She shrugged. The maids gave up after an hour of trying to get her to lie in her bed instead. Or even the library would've been a satisfactory trade to the lobby floor. They were gone now.

Priam looked up above him and then back to Robin. "Are you…staring at the chandelier?" he asked, his face crinkling with confusion.

"Priam, what do you want?"

Priam chuckled and crossed his arms. "I came to visit my favorite Grima."

"Don't lie to me. You like Aversa much more," snapped Robin. "Why are you really here?"

"To visit your pathetic ass, brat."

Robin rolled her eyes. They weren't getting anywhere. This was stupid.

"Get up. You're making me uncomfortable," said Priam, bending down and shoving his hand underneath her shoulders.

"Don't touch me," growled Robin.

"Don't touch me," mimicked Priam in an annoying high-pitched voice. He continued to taunt her. "I have so many problems. So I'm going to do it passive-aggressively and make everyone uncomfortable around me." He pulled her up into a seated position.

"Fuck you," Robin swatted his hands away.

"You're welcome," said Priam. "Now get up and stop acting like a petulant child."

"Shouldn't you be trying to get some guilty criminal out of jail right now?" asked Robin with distaste.

"Already did that all week, now go change out of your rags. Your father is coming," said Priam.

Robin frowned at Priam in silence. The last time she saw her father was the day before she was transferred hospitals. He was busy running the country or doing whatever he did at Desert Hill, the president's residence and where government was held.

Her muscles complained when she stood up; she had spent way too much time on the floor. "Why?" she asked.

"Don't ask me why," said Priam. "Do I look like I read minds?"

"You know everything though," muttered Robin.

"Thanks for flattery, but I don't know everything," said Priam. He gave her a hard shove towards the direction of one of the twin staircases in the lobby. "Now go change. Mr. President will have a fit if he sees his daughter looking like some homeless girl lying on the lobby floor. I'd rather not deal with his wrath today."

"Why? Did a girl reject you? Or did some pregnant girl you shacked up with say you're the father?" snorted Robin.

"Ha ha ha, you should be a comedian," said Priam. "If you want to know, both, brat. Now, go."

Grumbling under her breath about how useless Priam was, she ascended the stairs with a hand trailing up the railing beside her.

"I'll be in the kitchen, I'm fucking starving," Priam called out to her.

"Everyone's gone for the weekend! Don't make a mess in the kitchen. If Rosa finds her kitchen a messy, she'll have a fit."

"I'm going to do whatever I want," sassed Priam.

Robin eventually made it to her room, passing the creepy portraits of people she didn't know the identity of and the eerie paintings that she wished she could remove. Once inside her room, she closed the door behind her and stood in it. It was titanic. It was nearly the size of the first floor of her grandfather's home. Excessive, really. All the extra space made her feel uneasy. She trekked to her closet, changed out of her loungewear and made her way back to the lobby.

Thinking about what her father wanted was a headache waiting to happen. She adjusted the black cotton dress with short sleeves with metallic embellishing. On top of it, she wore a large cardigan. Aversa had a fashion show by a close friend of hers, and she had given Aversa some of the clothes as a gift. Seeing how Robin hadn't fattened enough in the meanwhile, she dropped them off with Robin. It felt a little tight on her, but it would do for the meanwhile.

* * *

Robin didn't understand why Priam brought her to the smallest study in the entire Fell Manor. Unlike many of the rooms, this one had been decorated with a minimalist taste. There was a simple desk and a comfortable office chair. The back wall had been converted into a single bookshelf occupied by an encyclopedia collection. The only other notable things in the room were the glass shelves with various jeweled trinkets and sculptures, which included a colourful egg made from rare minerals and lacquer (most likely a Feroxi gesture) and a pair of koi fish that had been sculpted out of jade (a gift from Validar's visit to Chon'sin).

"Nobody's here, Priam," said Robin. "And this room is far too small for a meeting with the President of Plegia, if you haven't noticed."

"All isn't what you see," said Priam. He walked towards the middle section of the bookshelf and removed three books on the third shelf.

"What are you doing?" asked Robin, heading closer to him.

Priam slipped his hand into the space and it was followed by a soft click. The shelf swung open like a door. Upon revealing the secret room, the chattering and arguing of men escaped. He shot Robin a smirk and reshelved the books. She stood there, mouth agape, brows raised. Tense. Frozen on the spot.

The voices in the secret room decrescendoed into a low buzz.

"Is that you, Priam?" called a voice. Robin knew exactly who it was: her father.

"Yes, sir," said Priam.

She glanced at Priam who was waiting for her to go inside. He kept nodding his head towards inside of the room. Robin shook her head.

Priam answered with an exasperated roll of his eyes and mouthed, "He's going to kill you if you make him wait longer."

She knew Priam wasn't lying. Sure, her father wouldn't actually kill her, but he'd make her sorry for making him wait and for wasting his precious time. Taking a moment to brace herself for what was to come would only drain what remained of her courage, so she stepped forward. She felt a tap on her shoulder when she brushed past Priam.

"Address your father as 'Anathema'. That's his alias," said Priam in a hush.

Robin nodded once and entered the room with Priam close behind her.

The room was spacious, but not as big as the library. Old maps and decorative rifles hung on the walls. Robin's footsteps were muffled by the tapestry that covered three quarters of the room. In the center was a long table that could seat at least fourteen people and each seat had a chair with intricate designs carved into the tall back.

Validar sat at the head of the table, elbows propped up on the table, and fingers intertwined. Beside him was an empty seat. Six additional pairs of eyes focused on her. Two of the six men were identical twins and the remaining four were all different. Behind Validar stood two bodyguards.

Priam spoke against her ear before taking a seat. "Go sit down beside him."

Her skin scrawled at the feeling of being probed and dissected. Robin didn't purposely avoided the glares. Truth was, she couldn't meet their eyes. She kept her head down and shuffled over to the open chair to the left of her father. A man with styled brown hair and a moustached face watched her sit down beside him. He offered her a handsome smile. Robin didn't smile back.

"This is my daughter, Robin. She will take my position and lead the Grima Syndicate when I deem her ready for the task. She has demonstrated great strategic prowess and has been studying the movements, inner workings and structure, and finances of the syndicate in the past couple years. I have confidence that she will have a synergistic effect in the future to come," said Validar.

The future of the syndicate blinked at her father in surprise. Never had he spoken highly of her before. And this was news to her. This was the last thing she expected from this meeting. Yes, her father and Priam made her study up on how the Grima Syndicate worked, but she had no idea she was going to be leading it.

Robin scanned the six men seated at the table and realized that they shared her surprise. If her deductions were right, this was a meeting with the drug lords of the Grima Syndicate. Six lords for six provinces—Adalar, Leanis, Ivano, Copren, Eglesia, and Sym. None of them looked pleased with the news. Even the man who had smiled at her a minute ago wrinkled his nose.

"Fa—" She stopped herself. "Anathema, I…"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," spat the man across from her. He was the youngest out of the drug lords and looked like he had been born with a scowl. "Her?" He ran a hand through his reddish-brown hair. The disgust on his face was pointed at her. "She's just a little bitch."

Robin shrunk into her seat. Her heart raced. The handsome man beside Robin sucked in a breath. Validar narrowed his eyes, shooting the young man a warning. Underneath the table, she clenched the skirt of her dress, but it didn't help. Adrenaline was already prickling her body.

"Vasto, watch your language in front of the lady," snapped an older gentleman with a large build and graying hair.

"Campari, she"—Vasto stabbed an accusing finger in Robin's direction—"is responsible for why _I_ lost my territory in Leanis!"

The creepy twins with matching hooked noses and wrinkled faces nodded in agreement.

"You traded your supposed _genius_ daughter for _my_ province? We had ports there!" hissed Vasto.

Validar tipped his chin up to regard the ranting man. Robin saw her father's jaw set. She gulped. This wasn't going to end well. She was going to never hear the end of being a humiliation to her father.

"What are you going to do without ports? Huh? You think you can ship drugs without fucking ports? What's your genius little bitch going to do about that?" Vasto was on his feet, both hands planted on the table. "Do you know how much money I lost?"

"Eren," said Validar, holding out his hand behind him. His voice was soft and quiet.

"Yes, sir," said one of the bodyguards behind him. His hand disappeared into the inside of his jacket and he pulled out a gun. He placed it in Validar's hand.

Robin's blood went cold at the sight of the weapon in her father's hand. Her eyes flickered between the gun and Vasto. She had to say something. She had to say something before the situation escalated.

"Are you threatening me?" growled Vasto. "You should be grateful. I'm the one with big enough balls to say what all of them want to say. No one's going to follow some little fucking weakass bitch who gets _fucked_ by the enemy. That's right. I heard the rumours."

When she opened her mouth to interrupt the the men, someone placed a hand on hers underneath the table. Robin snapped her head to her left to see the handsome man give a single, unnoticeable shake of his head.

Don't.

"You can't kill me and you know it! There's no one to replace—"

 _Bang!_

Everyone at the table stiffened, except Vasto, who was screaming, hand pressed against his stomach. He fell back into his seat. Robin had squeezed her eyes shut at the sound. There was a ringing in her ears, yet she could still hear her heart pounding too. When she opened her eyes, she saw the handsome man grimacing.

"Are you crazy?" yelled Vasto.

"Everyone is replaceable," said Validar and another loud shot deafened everyone.

Vasto's head hit the table and he went limp. A lake of blood spread across the table, crawling towards Robin.

"Anyone else have anything they want to say?" asked Validar. His calm demeanour petrified Robin.

Her ears still rang from the gunshot and she couldn't breathe. Her entire body trembled and it begged her—run.

There was a suffocating silence.

"Eren," said Validar again. The man retrieved his firearm and tucked it back away from view. "You know what to do with the body."

"Yes, sir," he said.

"Why don't we start with introductions? Robin had yet to be acquainted with everyone," said Validar, propping his elbows on the table again.

The handsome man seated beside Robin spoke first. "Hello, Miss Robin. I'm Orton. I'm in charge of Adalar, specifically Geotia," he said with a charming grin.

Robin merely nodded. She was too distracted by the dead body in front of her. There was so much blood. It was so red. Just like that one time…when she was in the arms of her dead mother.

Beside Orton, the older gentleman went next. "Campari. I take care of the business in Eglesia."

The rugged man after Campari spoke. "The name's Garrick. Sym is where I run my game."

"And we are Ardri and Chalard," said one of the creepy twins.

"We're responsible for the prospers of Ivano and Copren," said the other twin.

Again, Robin nodded and didn't speak. The last man who was still bleeding out on the table didn't need an introduction. Vasto. Responsible for Leanis, the province that her father had traded for the release of his daughter. The drip, drip, drip underneath the table sounded worse than nails against a chalkboard.

A thought crossed her mind: if she was going to be the head of the Grima Syndicate one day, she would have reclaim Leanis at some point. She might as well take advantage of the situation and solidify her future role and path in front of the drug lords by showing confidence. That's what her father would want. This was an opportunity.

"I-I'll get it back," whispered Robin, looking at the men. "I'll get Leanis back, Fa—" She stopped herself. "Anathema, I'll get it back."

All eyes fell on her with mild amusement.

"I expect nothing less," said Validar.

"Yes, sir," she said.

"Get each of your men to deliver a full report on what's been going on in the field in each of your provinces to Robin. That is all," said Validar.

When he stood up, everyone else did as well, out of respect. Robin got up from her seat but then had to grab the table for support because of weak knees. The atmosphere lightened once Validar left, but the smell of blood gripped Robin about her reality.

Orton yawned and stretched. "He had it coming, Miss Robin."

"Huh?" asked Robin.

"Why don't we get you some fresh air?" asked Orton. "Priam, I'm taking her out for a sec."

"Okay, I'll follow out after you in a bit," said Priam. He didn't look one bit concerned about what had happened. This mustn't have been his first time seeing something like this.

"Shall we?" asked Orton.

Robin couldn't get her thoughts straight, so she went along with what Orton suggested. She still clutched the skirt of her dress, knuckles white, and trailed after Orton. It appeared that he knew his way around the Fell Manor because he led her to the balcony into the ball room.

He opened the doors to the balcony and a late-summer breeze refreshed her senses. Orton invited her onto the balcony. "You get the best view of Goetia here. Come take a look, Miss Robin."

"Okay," she murmured walked onto the balcony. None of the distant city lights came into her view though. She was still shaken up by what happened.

"Do you smoke, Miss Robin?" asked Orton, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"No."

"Sometimes it calms the nerves after things like that." He chuckled. "I'm not a regular smoker, but sometimes I enjoy one every now and then. Priam smokes like a chimney though."

"Mmm."

"Would you like one? It might help." Orton held a cigarette in front of Robin's face.

"I'm okay," she said. It wasn't a refusal. It was a lie she had to say out loud to herself to reassure her that everything would be okay.

"No, you're not, Miss Robin. You're still holding your dress like a terrified child," said Orton. A charming smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Try it, it might help." He slipped the cigarette into her mouth.

Robin released her skirt and brought up a shaking hand to the cigarette to keep it from falling. She held the cigarette in between her index and middle finger, her palm facing her.

"It appears you're a sophisticated young woman," said Orton.

"What?"

"The way you hold your cigarette. That's what it's called."

"Oh."

"Is this your first cigarette?"

"No. I was curious, so I tried to smoke one of my grandfather's cigarettes when I was eight." Gods, she missed her grandfather. "He quit after that. I don't think I did it right anyway."

"Suck on the end, but don't inhale," said Orton. He flicked the lid off of the lighter and brought the flame to the end of the cigarette. It soon caught fire and burned red and grey wisps rose up in dancing waves. "Just inhale a little bit." He lit his own cigarette.

Robin inhaled and burst out into a fit of coughs. "This is awful."

Orton threw his head back and laughed at her. "You get used to it. Try hold it in your mouth for a bit before drawing it down."

Again, Robin tried Orton's suggestion, but she coughed and her eyes watered. "Why do you do this to yourself? This is disgusting."

He shrugged and sat on the stone railing. "Dunno. It helps sometimes, Miss Robin."

"Robin. Stop calling me 'Miss'," said Robin. "And smoking is bad for you. You shouldn't smoke."

"Well, Robin, a lot of things in life are bad for you. But we still gotta live, right?"

She lowered the cigarette away from her face to her side. Ashes broke off the cigarette and dusted the ground below. "I guess." Her mind flashed back to how Orton had stopped her from speaking out of turn. "Umm…thank you."

"For what? The cigarette? I think I'm doing you more harm than good, according to you."

"No, for…back in the room," she said. "For stopping me."

"Like I said, Vasto had it coming. He's been stealing from the syndicate and he was out of control. I'm confident that the rumours saying he killed the previous drug lord to get to his position are true. Greedy bastard. But he paid for it. With his life," said Orton. The end of the cigarette burned when he drew in another breath. "It's a shame that you had to see that."

"No, Father did that on purpose. To make an example of him."

"You are smart."

Robin brought the cigarette up to her lips, but before she could smoke it, someone snatched it out of her hand and tossed it over the balcony.

"What the fuck are are you doing?" asked Priam. He glowered at Orton.

"I didn't do anything," said Orton, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Aversa would kill me if she found out you were smoking," said Priam.

"You smoke like a hundred packs a day," said Robin.

"That's my problem. Not yours. You're not allowed to smoke. Lawrence would skin me alive after Aversa killed me."

The mention of her grandfather made her chest clench. She wished she could go back to Nosfer. Back to before all of this. She wished she could unsee what she saw today.

"You okay, brat?" asked Priam.

"No, but I'll be fine," said Robin.

"You," said Priam, pointing to Orton. "No more cigarettes for Robin."

"I'll try, but if the lady wants a smoke, I'm not denying her one. I can't say say 'no' to cute women," said Orton.

"Why did I expect better from you?" said Priam. He drew his attention back to Robin. "No smoking."

"That's not the issue at hand!" yelled Robin. Before she could bring up what happened, Priam interrupted her.

"You're right. We still need to find a permanent bodyguard for you," said Priam.

"You guys want Lon'qu?" asked Orton. "Sure, the guy lacks a personality, but he's reliable. We've already tested him and he's clean. He's a loyal one."

"What do you mean you tested him?" asked Robin.

"You shouldn't worry your pretty little face. It's just initiations we do to see if they're worthy to join our ranks," said Orton.

"What tests?" asked Robin. "What is he talking about, Priam?"

"You've had a rough day," said Priam. "You should go to bed."

"No, answer me," said Robin.

"Bed."

"No."

"Bed, little Grima."

"Tell me."

Orton placed a hand on each of their shoulders. Robin slipped away from his touch and took a step back. "Relax, you two. We've already had an eventful night, no fighting. If she wants to know, then I'll tell her. She's going to be leading us, after all. She'll find out eventually."

"Orton, don't," said Priam. "Not tonight."

"We make the new recruits break in the girls," said Orton.

Priam closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"What do you mean? You beat them?" asked Robin.

"Why would we beat them? Then they wouldn't be any use to us. No one wants a prostitute covered in bruises. That's sad. It's a turn-off." Orton stalled for effect and lit another cigarette. He didn't continue until he blew out a cloud of smoke. "But you know what's more sad than a beaten whore?"

Robin's brow knitted despite trying to keep a poker face.

Orton smirked. "A whore that's terrible at fucking."

"That's enough," said Priam.

"So, as the tradition follows in initiation, we watch the new recruits break in the girls and they prove that they're a man," said Orton.

"That's rape," said Robin.

"Nope. That's what the Grima girls are there for," said Orton.

"You're forcing people to have sex. That's rape," said Robin.

"I didn't make the rules," said Orton. He continued to smoke his cigarette.

"Orton, leave," ordered Priam.

"But before we do that, we beat them to an inch from death to find out who they are," said Orton.

"How does any of this prove anything?" yelled Robin. All she could imagine was poor Lon'qu being beaten half to death by faceless men and being forced to have sex with some underaged girl. Why would he join the syndicate when they did things like this to him?

"Well, normally, the undercover cops break after having their heads dunked in water a couple times. Their limits are often…low. And it's much easier to pay to off anyway," said Orton. "And you know Plegian men. Their masculinity feels threatened around gay men. So we make them prove that they're not."

Priam grabbed Orton by his shirt. "That's enough. Out."

"You can't shelter her forever, Priam," said Orton unfazed. "This is only the beginning. And tonight was nothing. Fine, fine. I'll leave."

Orton patted one of Priam's hand and he released him.

"Bye, Robin. I'll come visit again and I can answer your questions without…" Orton's eyes went to Priam. "Interruptions."

Priam relaxed after Orton left. Robin's legs finally gave out and she collapsed onto the floor.

"Is he lying?" asked Robin. Tears beaded in her eyes.

"Let's get you to bed," said Priam.

"I want Lon'qu. I owe him at least this," said Robin.

* * *

The suitcase had its lid wide open, and its contents were half-empty. After arriving at the Fell Manor, Lon'qu had unpacked and organized his clothes in the closet. The room he was occupying was beside the Grima girl's room. Being placed beside Robin's room was for the sake of convenience and safety. There was even a door that led to her room, but he knew better than to use that door.

He wasn't happy about his reassignment, but Orton had insisted it was a good opportunity. Now he had even less time on the field. It was already a struggle trying to figure out how the hell the damned syndicate was organized. He only had a name to go off of—Anathema. Most likely a title. Other than that, it seemed that Orton was the only one who knew Anathema was. No one else knew what the name meant. And it was pure chance he overhead the name. Lon'qu didn't like chance or luck. He preferred precision and accuracy.

Basilio and Flavia were more than patient with his (lack of) progress and told him things like these took times. The Grima Syndicate was so disorganized, he was surprised it even functioned as well as it did. At the news of his reassignment of babysitting the president's second daughter, Flavia suggested to stick with it and see how it went. She had one of those intuition moments. In short, she was feeling lucky.

Lon'qu finished unpacking and moved onto reviewing the staff roster. He flipped through the files and skimmed the notes. Then, he tossed the notes back onto the small wooden desk and decided to go outside to familiarize himself with the grounds. Starting outside seemed like the best way to start. It meant that he would get what he hated the most out of the way: being under the bloody Plegian sun. The rest of his chore would be completed inside the air-conditioned mansion. An obvious reward.

Upon stepping outside, Lon'qu felt the merciless sun begin to bake him alive. He closed the back entrance door behind him and followed the laid out cobblestone path. "Bloody heat," he muttered. Summers in Plegia were what hell must be like, he thought.

So far, it was what he had expected. A fountain. Trimmed bushes and shrubs arranged in a symmetrical layout. To the left was the shed that looked more like a greenhouse than a shed. And to the right, there was a garden that looked like it was worth a million G's. Lon'qu turned right for his scout.

"Hullo, stranger!" A man in his late fifties tipped his head back and beamed. He possessed kind eyes that crinkled when he smiled and had tanned skin from working under the sun for long hours.

Lon'qu knew who this was. Benjamin Tosh. The head gardener. Fifty-eight years old. Married to Maria Tosh. Two children. Employed with the Grima family for eleven years. No criminal record. High school education.

Benjamin removed his gloves and tucked them into the pockets of his green apron.

"Hello," said Lon'qu.

"You're the new guy, right?" asked Benjamin, approaching Lon'qu. "I'm the head gardener, Benjamin Tosh. Call me Ben." Ben extended an open hand.

Lon'qu returned the invitation with a firm handshake. "Lon'qu Sun, sir. I'm looking after Miss Grima."

"None of that formality nonsense. Ben is just fine," said Ben.

"Nice to meet you."

"You alright? You're sweating waterfalls."

"I don't do well in the heat."

Ben burst out laughing and he slapped his knee. Lon'qu, on the other hand, could not see the humour in the situation.

"Sometimes I forget that other people can't stand the heat here. But you know what they say, it's hot in Plegia because the people are full of passion. Or maybe was it anger?" Ben roared with laughter again. "Maybe it was both!"

Lon'qu didn't join in, but he did try to smile. That seemed like the right response.

"Why do you look like I force fed you lemons? Did I say something to rub you in the wrong way?"

"No, sir. I'm on edge when I'm hot."

"I told you. Ben is fine. No sirs for me. Are you looking for the little miss?"

"I'm checking the perimeters." Sweat was beginning to soak through his clothes already.

"The little miss is further in the garden. There's a pavilion. You might find her there."

"Thank you."

Lon'qu headed to the entrance of the garden but Ben interrupted him again.

"Wait!"

He schooled the irritation on his face before turning around.

"Can you give me five minutes? I'll cut some sunflowers for you to deliver to the little miss," said Ben.

'Do I have to?' was the immediate question that came to mind, but he didn't vocalize it. That would've been rude.

"The little miss has been down ever since she's returned," said Ben. "I think some sunflowers might brighten up her day. Don't you think, son?"

"Sure." Personally, Lon'qu couldn't care less, but he didn't want to be disrespectful to one of the oldest employees at the Fell Manor.

"I knew you'd understand." Ben slapped Lon'qu on the back and his shirt stuck to his skin.

The sweaty young man pursed his lip and swiped his brow with the sleeve of his button-down shirt. "Damn it," he said.

It didn't take long for Ben to return to Lon'qu with an abundant bouquet of sunflowers. The gardener thanked him and Lon'qu finally had permission to leave.

The beautiful garden that had been crafted by Ben didn't come into his view. He ignored all the different varieties and species of flowers because he couldn't give a fuck about plants right now. It was hot and humid and breathing in this weather was proving to be difficult.

At the sight of the white pavilion, relief spread throughout his veins. After he dropped off the sunflowers, he'd sprint back inside.

Under the pavilion was a young woman with her head resting on the table. Lon'qu knew it was Robin just by her choppy brown locks. He walked towards Robin, half-expecting her to perk her head up and give a groggy 'good morning' or a quiet, yet acknowledging stare: that was what he was accustomed to from his stay with her at the hospital. However, she did neither. She didn't even stir.

Lon'qu climbed up the three steps and walked around her to peek at what she was staring. She was asleep and had her arm draped over a rectangular checkered box.

Now, he had a dilemma: to leave Robin here and save himself or to try to wake up the skittish girl and coax her to come back inside. He paced around for a bit before dragging out a chair and sitting down. At least there was shade.

Waking her up was never fun. He had watched the nurses do it over and over again, and no matter how many times Robin was shaken awake in the morning, she woke up frantic and terrified. There was the option of leaving her here and letting her come inside on her own account, but then he wouldn't be doing his job.

Lon'qu checked his surroundings and determined that the garden was a poor hiding place for potential kidnappers or hitmen. The flowers were low to the ground and the bushes were too small to hide behind. In the end, he resigned himself to being in the outdoor sauna until Robin woke up. A glare settled on his face and it deepened as every minute went by.

Stupid girl. Didn't she know better than to fall asleep outside? There were tons of rooms to choose from inside the manor where there was air-conditioning, yet she was napping outside. Lon'qu realized that he was crushing the armful of sunflowers, so he moved them onto the table above Robin's head.

At this, Robin stirred, her face crumpling. Suddenly, she sat up straight in her seat and looked around her surroundings with sleep-crusted eyes. She yawned and stretched like a cat waking up from a nap. When she turned her head back to Lon'qu, she squinted at him.

"Lon'qu?"

"Hmm."

"What are you doing here?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I found you in the garden. Asleep," said Lon'qu. "Next time, I suggest sleeping inside, Miss Grima."

"So it makes your job easier? I'm pretty sure the point of a bodyguard is for you to follow me around, rather than me listening to what would be convenient for you," said Robin. She brought the checkered box towards her chest. "Did Ben hose you?"

"What?"

"You're soaking wet. Did Ben hose you? Sometimes he does that to people he doesn't like," said Robin.

"He didn't hose me."

Robin went quiet. "That's all sweat?" she asked flatly.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Why didn't you stay inside?"

By the gods. This woman was adding to his rage. Wasn't the answer obvious?

"Because of you."

"Oh." She turned her attention to the garden. "Did you see the bee balms? They're very pretty this year."

"No." Lon'qu didn't care about the damned flowers. He wanted to go inside.

"Where did you get the sunflowers from?" Robin pointed the bunch on the table.

"Ben told me to deliver them to you."

The corners of her lips tugged and her face softened. For once, she looked relaxed and content. Robin picked up a sunflower and regarded its bright yellow petals and brown center.

He was intrigued at how a single smile made her look uplifted.

"That's sweet of Ben," said Robin.

"We're going inside." It wasn't a suggestion nor a question. It was an order. He couldn't even think straight outside.

"Huh?"

"Collect your things. We're going inside," said Lon'qu. "Miss."

"Can you carry the flowers? I can't carry both the flowers and my game," said Robin.

Without a moment of hesitation, Lon'qu scooped up the flowers and the checkered box. And he made his retreat back into the safety of the Fell Manor.

* * *

The black and white chess pieces rested in the velvet molds of the box. She hugged her legs against her chest and eyed the pieces. Lon'qu stood against the wall near the entrance of the library, standing guard for an attack that would never happen. Over the first week, Robin had learned that Lon'qu had a tendency to find a spot in the room she was in and monitor her even she begged him to sit down.

Robin sighed and picked up the white queen and played with it in between her fingers. She was getting nowhere with this. It wasn't that she couldn't play chess or Fire Emblem. It was that she couldn't think several steps ahead or think of multiple counters. She could only go one move at a time and that was no use to her. Embarrassment gnawed away at her and she couldn't even practice during the day. All she did was stare at the game.

She was useless.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Robin placed the queen back onto its space on the board. "Come in."

Georgia, one of the maids, entered the room. "There's someone here to visit you."

"Who?" asked Robin.

"He says that his name is Orton," said Georgia. "Should I turn him away? We know how you don't like guests, Miss."

"Orton?" She perked up at the name and blinked.

Lon'qu frowned at the mention of Orton and stood up straight.

"Yeah, he can come in," said Robin.

After Georgia took her leave, Robin closed the box and locked it in place. The checkered pattern of the box bothered her; she probably couldn't win a single game right now. Disgusted, she pushed it away from her.

There were two light knocks on the door. A man in champagne shorts and a pattered white button-up shirt with folded sleeves strolled in. He adjusted his hat and smiled, revealing his pearly whites. "Hey, Robin," said Orton. He lowered his sunglasses down to the bridge of his nose to get a better look at her.

"Hey, Orton," she said. "You should've called."

"What's the fun in that? I like surprises more. Don't you?" said Orton, walking over to her. He took off his hat and placed it on her head. "You got a haircut."

"Aversa took me," said Robin. "Is it weird?" She tucked some hair behind her ear.

Sporting a short hairstyle was new to her, but after hacking off her hair in the hospital, she didn't have much of a choice. 'It'll grow out,' her sister kept telling her when her hairdresser evened out her hair. The final result was a hairstyle that was neck-length. It was the shortest her hair had ever been in her life.

"You look good. Perfect for late-summer," said Orton.

"You just know exactly what to say, don't you? You and your flattery," said Robin.

"It's not flattery if it's true," said Orton. He took a seat across from her and removed his sunglasses and placed them on the table. "This is a nice library. Two floors. Very nice. Is that fireplace real or for decoration?"

"It's real. Why are you here?" asked Robin.

"Checking in to see if you needed another smoke," said Orton chuckling. He glanced over his shoulder. "Lon'qu, can you stand guard outside?"

"I'm fine where I am," said Lon'qu.

Robin hadn't noticed before, but Lon'qu looked visibly unnerved in Orton's presence. His frown was more pronounced and his body was taut. Curiously, she watched. Did he not like Orton? Or was he afraid?

"I understand you're doing your job, but I insist I am no harm to Robin."

"I'll be fine, Lon'qu. Can you step aside for a bit?" asked Robin.

"But—"

"Please."

He didn't look happy about her request, but he obliged and stepped outside.

"Now, why is a pretty girl like you cooped up in a library?" asked Orton.

"Reading."

"There's no book in front of you. All I see is, I'm assuming here, is a game of chess. Shouldn't someone your age be on a trip with her boyfriend before the school year starts again? Or travelling with some girlfriends?"

"I'm taking a year off, and I don't have a boyfriend. And if you haven't noticed Father isn't very happy right now."

"Ah, well, I mean, running a country is pretty hard."

"You know what I mean."

"You deserve a drink."

"I'm eighteen. I'm not legal."

"It's okay. I'll be supervising."

"Orton, that's not how it works and you know it."

"I mix great drinks."

"I'm sure you do." Growing impatient with their banter, Robin decided to play hard. "Why are you here? And I want a straight answer."

He smiled before continuing. "I promised I'd come back to answer any questions you had. I bet Priam doesn't answer any of them."

Robin didn't answer.

"So, Robin. What would you like to know?"

"Why are you doing this for me? How do I know I can trust you?"

"What's there not to trust? Did I hide anything last time we talked on the balcony?"

"I…don't think so."

"There you have it."

"What's in it for you?"

"Entertainment. You're interesting and right now, I'm bored."

That wasn't the answer she expected, but it sounded honest enough. "Why is my father addressed as 'Anathema'?" asked Robin. It was out of curiosity, but testing the waters with Orton wasn't a bad idea.

"It's his alias. You'll have your own when you're the head of the syndicate. While it does mean 'curse', that's not why he was given that specific alias. How's your Plegian history?"

"Pretty good."

"The last war between Plegia and Ylisse. There was a secret hit team called 'Anathema'. They always accomplished an objective. Your father, Anathema, got his name because he's never failed an assignment. He excelled at it. Even with being politics and all."

Robin got chills simply listening to Orton talk about her father that way.

"I wonder what you'll show us to earn your alias in the future to come, Robin," said Orton. "Oh dear, I've frightened you."

"No." She shook her head. "You haven't."

"Do you play?"

"Huh?" Robin picked her head up to see Orton pointing to her chess set. "Sort of."

"Black or white?" asked Orton.

"White. First-move advantage. I've been fucked over enough in life that if I can choose to make the first move, I will." Statistically speaking, in a matched game, white did win more than black by a minute margin. "But I can hold my own playing black." Or she used to.

"Do you want to play a game?" asked Orton.

"No."

"Lighten up, sweets. I'm not going to force you to play. See? You need a drink," said Orton.

"Orton, what do you do exactly?" asked Robin.

"My family sells cars and boats," said Orton. "If you ever want to go sailing or for a drive in a nice car, let me know. Anyway, I should get going. Sorry that this was such a short visit." He got up from his seat and reached across the table to grab his hat off of Robin's head. "When do you turn nineteen?"

"Why?"

"Since you insist you can't drink because you're underaged."

"Priam will kill you."

"Let's let him try. For fun."

* * *

Questions and thoughts bounced and collided against one another in his head. He tossed and turned in his bed for a good hour before he finally sat up. Why had Orton come to visit Robin? Lon'qu didn't know the two knew each other. And what in the gods name did they discuss? What did Robin have anything to do with a drug lord?

Based on the brief moment he saw between Orton and Robin, he knew they weren't seeing each other. But they weren't friends either.

Lon'qu got up from his bed, pulled on a loose tank top and shorts. Trying to sleep wasn't a viable option. Perhaps clearing his head with a walk or jog would help. Luckily for him, he didn't need to watch Robin at night; the shift rotation schedule the security guards had allowed him to sleep at night without needing to be on alert 24/7.

He left his room and climbed down the stairs to the main lobby. It was finally cool enough in the manor to keep him satisfied and to think straight. Not being in his constricting uniform also helped. Robin had insisted that he didn't need to wear a suit, but that would be unprofessional of him.

Since the front side of the Fell Manor only had grass lawns, he chose to leave through the back entrance. One redeeming quality about Plegian summers were the chilly nights.

As he made his way to the back entrance, he saw a sliver of light from down a dark hall. Someone was in the library. Lon'qu's plan to take a walk out was dashed and he went to check who it was. The door creaked when he pushed it open wider and poked his head in.

It was Robin. She had a stack of books to one side and several open books on the other side. In front of her was a game of chess in-session. Her hand grabbed the book off the top of her stacked collection, but her eyes were fixed on the game against the invisible opponent.

Lon'qu closed the door without make a sound and crept towards her. He didn't want to shatter the concentration on her face. She plucked up a white piece from the board and relocated it. Robin considered her move for a little while longer and then slouched, as if she had resigned herself from this round.

"Argh!" Robin shoved the game away from her and ran both hands through her hair. Black and white chess pieces fell over and rolled off the board. "Damn it." When her eyes fell on him, she let out a scram. "What's your problem, Lon'qu? You nearly gave me a heart attack! You should've said something! Or meowed! Or squeaked! Or something! What are you? A ghost?"

This woman wanted him to squeak or meow to notify her of his presence. How did he even suspect any wrongdoings from someone like her?

"Go to bed," said Robin. "I'm fine on my own."

"Is this a regular thing you do?" asked Lon'qu, coming closer. He recalled that she slept during the day and nodded off at meals.

"That's none of your business," said Robin. She began to pack the chess pieces into the backside of the chessboard.

"You should sleep at night. Everyone's worried that you're always falling asleep during the day, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu.

"Don't tell me what to do. It's only quiet at night. I can't concentrate during the day. Everyone bothers me. Besides, why aren't you asleep?"

"Thoughts."

"Oh." Guilt crossed her face. "Do you want to sit down?" Robin pushed out a chair with her foot under the table. "You're not on duty. You can relax."

There was no harm in it. Lon'qu sat down across from her—the same seat Orton had sat on earlier today. He was itching to ask how she knew Orton, but he kept his tongue at bay.

"You don't like Orton, do you?" asked Robin. She finished packing up her game and set it aside.

"I have no opinion," said Lon'qu.

"I don't believe you," said Robin. "You didn't look too fond of him when he came earlier."

This was his chance. "How do you know him?" asked Lon'qu.

"Orton? A family friend," said Robin.

"You should keep your distance."

"Probably. But I also probably won't."

She started to organize the books laid out on the table. They were all books related to chess: books on strategy, books on puzzles, books on opening moves, and books on closing moves.

"What did you talk about?"

At this, Robin stopped and narrowed her eyes. "About chess."

"Does he play?"

"Yes, I think so."

They didn't exchange another word while Robin sorted through her books. The only form of communication between them was the occasional glance Robin directed at him.

It was probably all coincidence. The heat was making him overthink everything. Robin probably had nothing to do with the syndicate. It was all a coincidence.

"Are you going to bed?" asked Robin.

"Shouldn't you be going to bed too, Miss Grima?" asked Lon'qu.

"Will you take me outside?"

"I can't. I'm not allowed to."

"Says who?"

"My employer."

"Isn't that me?"

"No, Miss Grima."

"Come on."

"No."

"Fine. How about the balcony in the ballroom? That's technically still inside the house."

"Will you go to bed after that, Miss Grima?"

"Yes. I promise."

"Okay, fine. Let's go."

* * *

"I think this is becoming a thing," said Robin, sitting on the stone railing of the balcony.

It was their fifth late-night rendezvous. Somehow Lon'qu had found Robin in a different room every night and she convinced him to keep her company on the ballroom balcony five times in a row.

"It's not becoming a thing, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu. He should've known better than to wander off at night when he couldn't sleep; he always ended up here with _her_. And every time they ended up in this situation, she would talk to him even more than the previous night.

"Do you have a smoke?" asked Robin.

"What?"

"Do you have any cigarettes?" Robin said extra slow, like she was taunting him.

"No. I don't smoke. Neither should you, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu. "And you're still eighteen."

"Don't patronize me. I'm only two years younger than you. We're pretty much the same age," said Robin with a roll of her eyes.

"Don't smoke," said Lon'qu. "It's bad for you."

"I know. I'm not stupid." Her stomach grumbled. "Can you cook?"

"Yes, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu.

"Can you make me something to eat? I'm hungry," said Robin. "I'll go to bed after."

"Fine, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu. "Let's head to the kitchen."

Things didn't turn out the way he expected them to. The start wasn't bad. Robin had requested fries and Lon'qu found the potatoes, the peeler, the oil, and pan. He set aside a cutting board and knife and other various dry ingredients. But everything went wrong when he started to peel the potatoes. Everything.

"Holy titty fuck!" exclaimed Robin.

Lon'qu froze, peeler wielded in his hand. He had no idea where she learned such colourful language. "What, Miss Grima?"

"Your hand…"

"What about my hand?"

"It's like a blur when you peel the potato!"

"Umm…"

"This is probably like a world record!"

Lon'qu blinked at Robin, the half-peeled potato in his hand. He considered himself rusty since he had been much faster when he helped out his father at the restaurant. Initially, his father had allowed him to peel some potatoes to let Lon'qu feel helpful. However, when Lon'qu picked up on that, he wanted to prove to his father that he could be helpful. He practiced and practiced until he could peel potatoes faster than the chefs at his father's restaurant.

"This isn't my fastest," said Lon'qu. "I'm rusty."

"We need to time this. Let me go grab a stop watch!" Robin scrambled away with an excited grin. He hadn't seen her smile like that before. It was peeling potatoes. It was nothing to be excited about.

He finished peeling the potato in his hand and he tossed it into the metal bowl. He waited for the Grima girl to return. It wasn't long before Robin returned with a stopwatch held in her hand like a prize.

"Let's time how fast you can do this," said Robin.

"Miss Grima, is this necessary?" asked Lon'qu.

"Yes. It's always necessary to push yourself to the limits," said Robin.

"But with potato peeling?" asked Lon'qu. "Don't you want to eat and go to bed?"

"Shh. I'm trying to figure out how to use this. Oh! Got it!"

Her rush of energy made it difficult to decline her challenge. Robin looked like she was internally burning in hell on a regular basis. What right did he have to take this away from her?

"Ready?" asked Robin. A determined smile had bloomed on her face. She looked better with a smile on her face.

Lon'qu grabbed a potato and adjusted his grip on the peeler. He couldn't believe he was doing this.

"Go!"

Potato peels flew off with each quick flick of his wrist. He rotated the potato in his hand after a certain amount of yellow flesh had been revealed. After he was done the circumference, he shaved off the ends, and then threw the potato into the bowl.

"Twenty seconds," said Robin. "Wow. Twenty seconds. That's amazing."

Lon'qu wasn't happy with that result. He knew he could do better.

"You look like you want to try again," said Robin.

"Yes." He grabbed another potato from the bag.

"Okay, are you ready?" asked Robin.

Again, he peeled the potato as fast as he could. _Thunk_. The second potato landed in the bowl beside the first one.

"Eighteen seconds," said Robin. "You still don't look satisfied with that. I take like a minute to peel a potato. Again?"

"Again."

Perspiration dampened his forehead, but he didn't notice he was hot. With each potato, Lon'qu managed to shave off seconds and then milliseconds. Initially, Robin had cheered for each new set record, and then she pushed him to go faster. And without realizing that almost an hour had gone by, and fries long forgotten, the two stood in the kitchen with the last potato.

"This is the last one," said Robin. "You think you can break 14.53 seconds? We've been fluctuating around fourteen seconds."

"I know I can get thirteen seconds," said Lon'qu. His fingers twitched as he repositioned the potato in his hand. He put down the peeler and wiped his palm on his shirt before grabbing the peeler again.

"Deep breath. You got this," said Robin. "I'm going to count to three and then say 'go'. Okay?"

"Got it."

"One."

He was going to beat his record.

"Two."

Even if it was the last thing he was going to do.

"Three."

Here goes.

"Go!"

Everything went quiet aside from the peeler brushing against hte potato. Skin slid off of the tuber with each move. The coordination of both hands was perfection. And then he slammed the potato and the peeler down onto the table.

Robin stopped the stopwatch. Lon'qu waited for her to announce the time.

"13.42 seconds!" she screamed. "You did it!"

Lon'qu fisted in triumph. Gods, it felt great to set a new personal best record.

She ran around the kitchen table and threw her arms around him. "You did it! Holy shit! 13 seconds!" She took a step back blushing. "Sorry. I got excited."

Lon'qu flushed and looked away. "It's fine, Miss Grima."

"Wow, that was fun."

"It was."

"I never knew you could smile, Lon'qu."

"What in the world is going on in here?" shrieked a voice.

Lon'qu and Robin snapped their heads to the entrance of the kitchen.

"R-Rosa," said Robin. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I heard a ruckus in my kitchen. So I came to check." The older woman's graying bun had been hastily pinned behind her head and her hands rested on her hips. Her eyes fell on the pile of potatoes and skins covering the table. The cook looked none too pleased.

"Rosa! Lon'qu can peel a potato in thirteen seconds!" said Robin.

"And what do you suppose we do with ten kilos of peeled potatoes?" asked Rosa.

"Umm…" Robin pondered the question. She shrugged. "I have faith in you to delicious potato dishes with them for week?"

Rosa shot a glare at Lon'qu and he flinched. He got carried away.

"I'm sorry," said Lon'qu. "Would you like me to go buy some potatoes for you?"

The cook pursed her lips and her eyes flicked back and forth between Robin and Lon'qu. "I'll let it slide this time, since Miss Robin looks so pleased with herself that her bodyguard can peel a potato in fifteen seconds."

"Thirteen, Rosa. Thirteen."

"Shush, Missy. You go to bed, right now," said Rosa.

"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" asked Robin.

"A hug will suffice," said Rosa.

"You got yourself a deal," said Robin. She opened her arms up to Rosa and the older woman enveloped her.

"I've missed your laugh, darling," said Rosa. "Now off to bed." Rosa let Robin return to her bedroom, leaving Lon'qu with her by himself. "And you."

"Yes?" he said. There was something terrifying about angry old women. They feared nothing, especially if their loved ones were involved.

"Help me clean this up and next time I need help with peeling potatoes, you have to help me, got it?" said Rosa.

"Yes, ma'am."

Lon'qu did as he was told and helped Rosa with cleaning up the mess they had made. At one point, Rosa paused and asked, "Really? Thirteen seconds?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I bet you could peel faster if it's smaller than the russet potatoes you peeled."

* * *

One weekend every month, everyone who worked in the Fell Manor was given a break and went away. The Fell Manor was eerie and empty without the staff. It was particularly creepy at night. Lon'qu rolled out of bed and left his room. The tendency to check the rooms at late hours at night became a habit after catching Robin at ungodly hours, fussing over her chess game. He didn't understand why she couldn't do it during the day, but he let her be. To each their own, he concluded.

Lon'qu found himself in the lobby again and he checked down the hallways of the east and west wing. All of them were dark and the only light illuminating the Fell Manor was the moonlight piercing through the windows. Robin wasn't up tonight. She was sleeping in her room.

He yawned and turned around to head back upstairs, but something stopped him in his tracks. He saw a flicker of light down the one of west hallways. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him because of the late hour. It didn't hurt to check.

"Miss Grima? Is that you?" asked Lon'qu.

There was no answer. She was probably focused on studying again. Yet, he was uneasy. No. It was moments like these that he needed to investigate.

Steeling his nerves, he sneaked down the hallway to the final door at the end of the hallway. If memory served correct, the final door in the smaller west hall was a study. Discovering Robin inside this room was a high possibility. She had a tendency to favour the library and the various study rooms in the manor. But the lights weren't on.

He steadied his breath and approached the door. Lon'qu wrapped his hand around the doorknob and turned it achingly slow. And he pushed in. Light flooded his eyes.

"Who are you?" barked a voice.

Lon'qu squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. Across the study, there was another door. No, a bookshelf on a hinge, revealing a second room. The man who demanded his identity tried to grab him by the shirt, but the years of training ingrained in his body dislodged the attacker's grip like a reflex. Lon'qu twisted the man's arm and struck him behind the head. He let the unconscious body fall to the ground.

"L-Lon'qu?" Robin stood at the door.

"Don't move!" shouted a man. He shoved Robin aside and held Lon'qu at gunpoint. "Put your hands up!"

Lon'qu slowly raised both his hands. "Miss Grima, what's going on?"

Behind him, Orton appeared with both eyebrows raised. "Did he just knock out Campari? Oh, gods. He's in his late fifties. He probably broke a hip."

"Who is it? Is it a staff member?" A man with a maliciously aged face and a curved back appeared.

"Do we need to get rid of someone again?" asked an identical twin. The excitement in his voice dripped off his words.

This was something Lon'qu had never saw coming. They were all connected to the syndicate. If he ran, he'd lose all the progress he made and he wouldn't be able to show his face again in Plegia. If he didn't run, he could lose his life. But if even if he did live, if he couldn't fulfill his mission, what purpose did he have in life?

"Bring him in," said a deep voice from within the room.

Another large man came out of the room while his buddy pointed the gun at him. They ushered him into the room, gun pressed against the back of his head. He could take both of them. Steal the gun. Kill everyone here.

The man behind him made him kneel in front five people. There were the twins, Orton, Robin, and one man who shocked him the most—the president of Plegia. Validar Grima.

Lon'qu nearly laughed at the irony. Plegia was so corrupted that the president was involved in the workings of the syndicate. He had hit the jackpot. But now, to survive.

"Can we kill him, Anathema?" asked one of the twins, looking to the president.

Anathema. It was an alias for Validar Grima. He was the head of the syndicate.

"Yes, it seems necessary," said the other twin.

"How much does he know, Orton?" asked Validar.

"Not much. He's an errand boy," said Orton.

"In short, he's replaceable," said a twin. "Only the inner circle should know about your identity. It's been that way for years."

"He's mine," Robin spoke up. All the attention was on her. "I want him as my right hand man."

"You don't need one," said Validar.

"But I will need one in the future. I want Lon'qu. I trust him. We can groom him for the position," said Robin.

" _I_ don't trust him," said Validar. "He isn't even begging for his life. He's too calm for being caught."

Robin looked to Orton pleading with her eyes.

"He knows better than to beg in this line of business," said Orton. "He knows what he was getting himself into. Besides, he could've taken both your men down, Anathema. He's choosing not to. Out of respect. Lon'qu's excellent without a weapon. He took out five armed men with a fruit knife unscathed."

She turned away from him.

"Just get rid of him," said a twin.

"Yes," agreed the other one.

"How about this?" started Robin. "You can have him interrogated all you want. I know you've been having a hard time trying to clean up crime in Plegia with your new agenda while also maintaining the syndicate. I can understand where your distrust comes from, Anathema. So interrogate him however you want. And if you don't like his answers…you can kill him. But if he's good and trustworthy, give him back to me and I get to make him my right hand man."

Validar considered her words and then studied the Lon'qu. "Send him to Needles."

"We're interrogating him, Anathema. Not scarring him for life. Needles even creeps me out. And she has a thing for young men."

"Who's Needles?" asked Robin.

Lon'qu stomach dropped. He had heard rumours about Needles—a scientist who did research on pain. Death sounded like a better option if any of the stories he had heard were true.

"Needles doesn't know how to control herself," said Orton.

"Then, finish him off right now," said Validar.

"No!" Robin shouted.

"I'll do it." Everyone turned to Lon'qu. Robin was at the verge of tears.

He needed to stay alive to continue his mission.

"I'll do it. Give me a chance, sir."

* * *

 **m.r. notes:**

Thank you for reading! :) And a special thank you to everyone who leaves a review. I wish I could respond to guest reviews, but this site doesn't have that feature.

If you have any suggestions on how I could further improve my writing, please let me know! Varying my sentences more was a feedback I got and I tried to change it up a bit more. I'm hoping it's noticeable...

Would you guys prefer more frequent updates with shorter chapters? Or is the long chapters and an update every couple weeks okay?


	29. By My Side (Part 5): Weighing Lives

**A/N:** Hey, my dearest, cherished readers!

Sorry I've been MIA for so long. I'm back in school. It's actually exams and I wouldn't be studying... =_=

I've been working on this chapter for a couple of months but couldn't quite get it to come together. So I ended up throwing my hands up into the air and went 'SCREW IT, LET'S JUST POST IT'.

I should be posting more regularly once school is out. :)

* * *

 **Chapter 29: By My Side (Part 5): Weighing Lives**

At night, the uglier side of Robin's mind and anxiety would rear its head and suffocate her with blame. During the day, she was too exhausted from the lack of sleep that she couldn't figure out how to help Lon'qu. And as a result, she felt even more worthless and helpless. Drowning would've been easier than having to deal with the weight of crushing guilt. Actually, there wasn't much of a difference. The only difference was that one was physical and the other was emotional and mental.

As if everyone in her life knew that she was a ticking time bomb, no one had come in to check in on her in the past week, except the household servants. They were most likely just busy since they did have their own lives—such as Aversa and her modelling; Priam and his actual job of manipulating the truth; and Orton and his questionable car dealerships—but her deteriorating mind told her otherwise. It told her they were avoiding her and didn't care.

She felt alone.

She was alone.

"Miss Grima?"

Robin tipped her head away from the library window and took her time to find the maid, Georgia. A pair of empty eyes met the timid pair.

"Rosa insists you come eat lunch," said Georgia. She started off enthusiastically but then her voice grew quieter. It always did whenever she addressed her. "Miss Grima." She added the formality like a period to a sentence she stopped constructing halfway.

"I'm not hungry," said Robin.

The maid faltered in front of her. She held her folded hands in front of her a little tighter than usual.

The thought that she made people this uncomfortable loomed over her head. Robin turned her gaze away from Georgia and returned to ruminating in her thoughts. When she leaned her head against the window again, the coolness of the glass reminded her that she was regretfully alive and that she still felt things.

"But Miss, you haven't eaten since yesterday lunch," said Georgia.

"Huh," said Robin indifferently. "So I haven't."

"You need your energy," said Georgia.

"You know. She's not wrong."

Anger simmered in the pit of her stomach the moment she heard the new voice. She brought her undivided attention to the man who had entered the scene.

"Orton. You're uninvited here," said Robin coolly.

He smiled at her while pulling out a chair near her and sat down. "We both know you don't give our invitations." Orton asked Georgia, "What's the lunch menu, doll?"

"It's sauteed duck breast with a wild mushrooms, a salad with dried figs, and potato pave. Rosa thought Miss Grima would've found the potato pave fun," said Georgia.

Robin's heart sank at the mention of figs and potatoes. They still hadn't finished all the peeled potatoes from that one night in the kitchen with Lon'qu. Rosa was an impressive cook to find new ways to use them up.

Orton whistled. "Damn. That sounds delicious. Why are you refusing such a delicious meal, sweets?"

"You're not going to leave, are you?" asked Robin.

"Have you been moping for the past week?" Orton volleyed back. "That's a bit of a disappointment. I thought you'd be the type to take action."

"What did you say?" snapped Robin.

Georgia flinched and Orton smirked, enjoying twisting the knife in Robin's wound.

"Be a doll and bring lunch up for two?" Orton directed Georgia without breaking eye contact with Robin.

"Yes, sir," Georgia murmured and scurried out of the library.

"How dare you." Robin rose to her feet. "Wipe that fucking smile off your face."

His smile further widened. "You know, Robin. The similarities between Anathema and you are uncanny."

"I'm nothing like him," said Robin, her hands balled into fists. "You don't think I've done my research?"

"Oh?" Orton quirked a brow. "And what did you find?"

"A researcher in a pharmaceutical company," said Robin.

"How do you know? It could've been a professor at a university," said Orton.

Robin knew Orton had the answers to most of her questions, but he got off on toying with people. He already knew the information she was giving him, but she decided to play along.

"It's publicly funded by the taxpayer's money. Something as controversial as her research would've never made it. Once I get the files about the syndicate from you, I can confirm whether Guvano is backed by the syndicate. But I wouldn't be surprised. They have the facilities to mass produce drugs," said Robin.

"You got all that from one researcher profile?" asked Orton, mildly surprised.

"Am I wrong?" asked Robin.

"No," said Orton. "How did you figure that much out?"

"I just asked myself, 'If I ran an international crime organization, how would I go about producing all those drugs under the radar?'. As much as making cocaine in the desert is a cute idea, it's not efficient. You need facilities to make drugs, and working in a pharmaceutical company, you have everything at your fingertips. Of course, as long as you pay off the right people. That or you need to build a lab somewhere you wouldn't get caught, but transporting chemicals would've been another concern. What really gave it away was that the twins, Ardri and Chalard, are the major shareholders of Guvano in the Plegia branch."

This time, Robin smiled. It was the first one in days and it was far from sincere, but at least it was one of satisfaction. "So, how much of that did I get correct?"

"An impressive amount," said Orton. "I can't wait to see what you'll do once you have all the information and files at your fingertips. I can see why your father named you as the successor and not your sister. She's better suited to being eye candy."

Robin's face fell and her temper. "Don't you dare insult my sister. She graduated with a double major in business and psychology. She's worth more than all of your men combined. Just because she's a model doesn't mean she's not smart."

"My apologies," said Orton, but it sounded insincere. Like he was waving it off. "But I still stand by what I said, Robin. She's nothing like you and that impressive mind of yours. It's quite a wonder to see your mind at work rather than watching you waste away."

Three polite knocks interrupted the two before Robin could respond to the backhanded compliment.

"Ah, food is here. I was starting to get hungry," said Orton, getting up from his seat. "Come in, Georgia. Robin, let's eat. We'll talk over lunch and maybe I might drop some interesting tidbits for you."

Georgia set the table in the center of the gigantic library and placed four plates of food opposite from one another. "Would you like anything to drink?" she asked as Orton took his seat and unfolded the napkin.

"Wine," said Robin, taking her seat.

"You read minds now? Pinot noir would be nice," said Orton.

"It's no secret that Plegians love their wine," said Robin.

"Right away, Miss Grima."

"And as much as I don't want you here, you are a guest and Father would be upset if I didn't maintain such courtesies and decorum in his absence," Robin said and stared at her plate of steaming duck breast topped with wild mushrooms. The potato pave was a cute little block with a little bit of green garnish. Beside it, there was a plate with salad and dried figs.

"I wasn't sure if we should've plated them all separately or not. Last time you said that we should plate it all on one large plate to save water from doing more dishes. But you have a guest, Miss Grima," said Georgia, glancing over at Orton. "If Mister Grima knew, he wouldn't be happy."

"It's fine. Tell Rosa she has outdone herself, as always," said Robin. "And thank you, Georgia for setting up lunch. Don't forget the wine."

"Yes, Miss Grima," said Georgia and she took her leave.

Orton moaned in delight at the first bite. "I may have to kidnap your chef."

"Hmm." Robin hummed with a weak, half-hearted smile and picked up her utensils. Their previous conversation had drained her more than usual and she was grateful that she had someone that cooked for her. If she lived on her own, she would've starved majority of the time.

They ate their lunches in silence until Georgia returned with two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. Orton dismissed her and said that he could uncork the bottle. Robin jumped when a loud pop erupted from the bottle. Flashes of Vasto being taken care of flickered in her thoughts. The strong iron scent of murder and see the splatter of crimson with its creeping puddle. Robin's fork threatened to slip out of her grip.

Orton poured a glass and pushed it towards Robin. When she saw the glass from the corner of her eyes, she pushed the thought deep into the back of her mind. Robin forced herself to focus on her plate and on finishing the mouthful of food in her mouth. Once she swallowed, she said, "I'm not legal for another month."

"Don't worry, I won't tattle on you," said Orton.

"I'm not drinking it," said Robin, stabbing her salad.

"Suit yourself," said Orton, taking the glass and sipping from it.

"Why are you here?"

"Boredom."

"Aren't you even concerned for Lon'qu?"

A silence followed and this got Robin's attention. Her eyes flicked up from her food. Orton heaved a heavy sigh and threw down the napkin after wiping his mouth.

"I wouldn't wish Needles on my worst enemy, Robin," said Orton. "I already consider him dead."

Robin's blood ran cold and her stomach dropped. However, she tried to maintain a calm facade. She put down her fork and sat up straight in her seat.

"Explain."

For a man who communicated mostly through smiles, the next smile Orton gave her made her face twitch. It was such a rotten, dark smile.

"Let's just say, he won't be quite right in the head for a bit. If he makes it to that point. Most of the men preferred eating a bullet instead," said Orton.

"Get him out," said Robin.

"Demanding anything of me won't make a difference," said Orton. "However…"

"What?" Robin clung to the glimmer of hope. She needed something to hold onto. Something to focus on.

"Try impressing Anathema like you impressed me," said Orton.

Robin scoffed. "You're hilarious. My father views me as a failure. I'm only a pawn to be used in the grand scheme of things. I can't even leave this god damned property."

"You should have more confidence in yourself," said Orton. "I'll get someone to drop off some stuff and you can take a look. If you want, I can even visit again and explain our situation in Plegia."

"Our? You mean the syndicate?" Robin said with disgust.

"Oh, princess. You better get used to the idea of leading it some day." Orton smirked. "I can reassure you is that no matter where you run to or how much you dig your heels in, you will lead. Until now, I thought Anathema was a genius, but you. Just thinking about your potential from our short conversation"—Orton held up his glass in toast—"has me buzzing with excitement."

Robin narrowed her eyes. She brought his attention back to the main challenge at hand. "What's in it for you? Why are you even telling me any of this?"

"Because Robin. I've lost a lot of money after we lost Leanis. We all have. I don't like hemorrhaging money. I like keeping up with my lifestyle," said Orton.

"So you're using me," said Robin.

"No. Well, I guess a bit. Initially, I didn't know what you could be capable of. You're young. Not all women are cut out for this," admitted Orton. "Tell you what. Why don't you humour me and see how this goes? What do you have to lose?"

* * *

As promised, Orton had dropped off boxes of files and several maps. The library was on lockdown for a month and Robin forbade anyone from coming in because of the sensitive, incriminating information that was present. Orton visited often to see how she was progressing and answered all the questions she drilled him on. She couldn't afford to make a mistake.

After slugging through sleep-deprived weeks, living off of caffeine, and falling asleep sitting up on far too many occasions, she had a plan. Despite the nature of the syndicate's activity, a moral issue arose. Two local gangs were in control of two areas the province of Leanis. The Grima Syndicate had had a rough history with them, but the gangs stood their ground like a tumour, expanding and digging into the province. According to Orton, after many years of bloodshed, even Anathema relented and a mutual agreement was decided that they'd stay out of each other's ways.

"That's the best plan you have?" asked Orton. "To out the Haviche and Quinas gangs?"

Was it right to kill hundreds of people and possibly even more casualties for one man? What right did she have to decide this?

Robin rubbed her sleep crusted eyes. She yawned and solemnly nodded. "It's the most efficient. If we uproot them now, they also won't be a problem in the future. After we seize the geography, we can attack Leanis from both sides and the Triad will have no choice but to leave."

"Robin," started Orton.

"I know. It's going to be a war," said Robin. "But if we involve the police and aim for discreet espionage instead, we could incriminate the heads and that should minimize bloodshed."

"That's going to cause an internal war," said Orton. It was the first grimace she had ever seen him make.

"Yes, but the key thing here is to make both gangs think that the other one is at fault. We initiate the conflict, but line things up so that it looks like they're after each other," said Robin quietly. "There will still be quite a bit of…death. But this is the best way to go about this way. We let them self-destruct."

"We never considered brewing a war with the two gangs," said Orton, stroking his chin.

"You don't like my idea?" asked Robin.

"No, I don't like it," said Orton.

Robin sighed and decided she'd be back at the drawing board soon. But this was the best option. It was the most effective and had the shortest calculated duration. Causalities and death counts wasn't something she would calculate though.

"I love it. It's brilliant," said Orton.

Robin blinked at Orton.

"It's genius. We trick them into thinking the other one is after their territory and vice versa? It's fucking genius. We don't even get our hands dirty," said Orton.

The dark joy on Orton's face made Robin avert her gaze and instead, fixed her attention to the ground.

"Yes, I suppose so…" murmured Robin. She knelt down beside one of the empty boxes near her work station and she started to pack her stuff in. Moving the materials and files to the secret meeting room would be the safest option and she would have to do it quickly. "Hey, Orton."

"What is it?" Orton turned to her and put his hands in his pockets.

"This means that there is going to be so many casualties and collateral damage that innocent people will die. How is this right? I don't have the right to conduct such massacres in exchange for one person," said Robin coldly.

"Robin. Right and wrong is so relative. Life is unfair, sweets. Bad things happen to people who don't deserve it. Good things happen to people who don't deserve it. But if it means you can have a little bit of control over that, wouldn't you want it?" asked Orton, offering her a hand up from the floor. "Wouldn't you want to grasp at that power?"

She wished she could be as good as her mother or grandfather probably wanted her to be. She wished she could scream that she was different. That she wasn't like that. That she didn't want power. But not everyone had a father like hers, had their mother murdered, and was as lonely as she was. She knew what it felt like to be absolutely powerless. But right now, she had the opportunity to grab it—power.

Robin's smaller hand slipped into Orton's larger one. He tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her up onto her feet.

"Inform Anathema of the plan," said Robin. "This better get Lon'qu out. If it doesn't, I'm coming after you, Orton."

Orton chuckled. "Are you trying to be scary?"

Robin brushed passed the older gentleman. "There's nothing scarier than someone who has nothing to lose, Orton," said Robin over her shoulder.

And this shut him up for once.

* * *

"Would it kill you to smile?" Priam asked with a wine glass in his hand.

"Yes," said Robin, trying to avoid Priam. "Why are you here?"

"It's your birthday," said Priam before finishing the glass. "Lawrence would kill me if I let you spend your nineteenth on your own."

Robin involuntarily winced at the mention of her grandfather. If she had it her way, she would be eating cake from the bakery that was older than her grandfather and watch a movie with her grandfather.

"Are you going to drink that?" asked Priam, pointing to her own wine glass. He swiped it from her hand and replaced her glass with his empty one. "Too late now."

Priam ungraciously plopped down into an armchair in the parlor. "Happy fucking nineteenth, brat," he said, raising his glass. "Welcome to being a legal adult. Let me give you a piece of advice: it's not going to get easier, that's for sure. Life isn't magical now that you've turned the one-nine now. Don't let those stupid movies and TV shows and the other dumbasses in your age group tell you otherwise."

"You're always so much help. You and your infinite wisdom and unsolicited advice," said Robin.

"My pleasure, brat."

"How's Grandpa?" Robin played with the empty glass in her hand.

"Iunno. How's your head?" Priam jabbed his head with a finger while staring her down. "Can you play a game of chess without getting your ass kicked?"

"Don't answer my question with a question."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing."

A sharp knock on the open door brought their attentions to the newcomer. Orton stood there dressed smartly as ever. Unlike the summer, where he opted for lighter colours, his wardrobe transitioned into darker shades to match the October hues.

"You weren't invited to the…" Priam paused, trying to pick the right word to whatever this was. "…birthday party."

"My, but the legal lap dog from the slums was invited. Why wouldn't I be?" said Orton. He wore his handsome smile, but the malice in his words contrasted harshly against his portrayed demeanour. "Does he even trust you?"

Robin turned her attention to study Priam. She had known him for the majority of her life, but she was curious how he was close to her grandfather, yet close to her father. Neither her grandfather and father liked each other and the hostility further grew after her mother's death. Priam never talked about it, and she never asked. However, from the sounds of it, Orton was trying to drag skeletons out of the closet.

"Pfft. Says the uneducated pig, parading around like he has a good pedigree," said Priam, unfazed by Orton's insult. He even laughed to himself like he was proud of his verbal jab.

For the first time, Robin saw true anger flicker on Orton's face. As quickly as it appeared as a twitch in his eye, it vanished and he recovered with his usual smile.

"I didn't know what to get you for your birthday," said Orton. "But I know what you want. And I've just come to say that the butterfly has been set free from its trap so it can migrate to a warmer place."

Priam narrowed his eyes at the remark and straightened up in his seat to angle himself better to analyze Robin's response. Robin avoided his eyes when they fell on her. The messenger smirked, thoroughly enjoying the tension that was building.

"Thank you, Orton," said Robin.

"Robin. What the fuck are you doing behind my back?" demanded Priam.

"She can manage on her own," said Orton. "She's hardly a child."

"You. Shut the fuck up," said Priam, holding up a hand to silence Orton, and then stabbed an accusing finger in Robin's direction. "Brat, spit it out."

"Oh, and Robin," Orton interrupted once again. He threw something towards Robin and she caught the object in her hands. She opened her hands and found a car key with a remote attached on the same ring. "Like I said. I didn't know what to get you."

"So you got me a car," Robin stated.

"It's the latest model. She's a beauty," said Orton.

"Robin is a terrible driver," said Priam.

"I only learned from the best," snapped Robin.

There are people who can't have three square meals a day in this god damned country and Orton got her a car as a gift. Robin fought the urge to throw the keys back to Orton, but she couldn't. In Plegia, it was considered extremely rude to decline gifts, especially once it was in your hands. Robin begrudgingly tightened her grip on the keys.

"Thank you." Robin forced herself to say. "Orton before you. Is this an IOU or is this thank you for what I pitched?"

"A birthday gift," said Orton. "Nothing more."

"My birthday gift is my presence, brat," said Priam, downing the rest of the wine.

* * *

His hand wouldn't stop trembling. This was new. Not even fear had made his hands tremble like this. If he wasn't so exhausted out of his mind, anger would've been the main emotion simmering underneath his physical shell, but shame and relief were the only emotions that intertwined and ingrained into every cell of his body.

"Are you shaking because you're excited?" asked Orton. "You lost a lot of weight."

The click of the lighter were amplified in his ears and he turned away. Orton sucked on the cigarette and exhaled.

"The girl is smart," said Orton. "She got you out. I guess her birthday wish came true."

Lon'qu fixated on the bruised skin of the inside of his elbows. He was weak. It was disgusting.

"You could've gotten out earlier if you just did what she asked you to do," said Orton with a shrug. "Needle's a crazy bitch, but she's hot enough to fuck. Maybe if you just gave in, it wouldn't have taken this long."

His eyes flicked up to Orton, flooded with pure hatred. Lon'qu could still feel that woman's lingering, burning touches on his body, tracing every part of him, going lower and lower. His breath got caught in his throat as he recalled the drug that heightened pleasure and pain to the point where he couldn't tell which was which. Every unwanted physical interaction with Needles was imprinted onto him.

"I don't even know why she's allowed to do all that research. How is it even ethical?" Orton muttered to herself.

All Lon'qu could manage was asking about the date.

"October tenth. It was Robin's birthday today."

It was also his birthday too.

Orton let out another ashy breath after a long suck on his cigarette. Lon'qu's eyes watered. Orton glanced over and clicked his tongue. He sighed.

"I don't say this often, but you did good, kid. After all this, I don't even think Anathema will get rid of you. You've proved your worth more than a hundred times over."

Lon'qu let out a shuddery breath and tipped his head back to blink away his tears. Reality was slowly pulling him back out of the living nightmare he had barely survived.

* * *

It was rare that Robin answered the door, but when she saw the man who owned the seriousness unfitting of someone in their early twenties, she was glad she answered the door. It was by chance that she was walking past the door too.

Robin stared up at Lon'qu who was dressed all in black as per usual, but he had a matching peacoat on to counter against the cold. He looked like he had been shattered and glued back together. She could almost trace her fingers over his cracked soul.

"Miss Grima."

Hot tears fell down her face, one by one.

He looked so much thinner. So much older. Like he saw hell and came back. His eyes betrayed the darkness he struggled to hide.

Robin burst out crying and threw her arms around him. Lon'qu stiffened and took an immediate step back. She muttered something that sounded like an apology and let him go.

Lon'qu cleared his throat and awkwardly placed a hand on his suitcase handle. Then, she covered her face and crumpled to the floor in uncontrollable sobs, repeating two words over and over again until it was carved into the day they were reunited again as two broken people.

"You're alive."

* * *

Everyone in the Fell Manor noticed that a corner of Robin's melancholy had been lifted at the return of her bodyguard. The temporary bodyguards she had despised were still around, but she didn't see them as often. That didn't even matter because the one person she was truly indebted to was back.

If anyone had met the two interracial duo without knowing them, they would've assumed that Robin was the caretaker rather than Lon'qu. Every single one of Robin's rare smiles were offered and given to Lon'qu. She made sure he ate and even though he didn't say much she talked enough for both of them.

His silence was uncomfortable for most, but she understood. Sometimes words weren't enough to share how one felt. Sometimes silence was the only way to communicate and the only remedy until people were ready to talk.

Lon'qu performed his duties without any openings for criticism, but Robin noticed a new development in Lon'qu—he was severely uncomfortable around some of the female staff. Once, Georgia had accidentally bumped into him and he nearly flew away from her and pressed himself against the wall, hair standing on ends like a terrified cat. He was physically fit to be Robin's bodyguard, but some of the staff started to question his mental fitness. Robin silenced all the whispers fiercely, but she worried. She wanted to know what happened so she could help him, but maybe it wasn't her place.

Then the news stories started to trickle in. Interviews with police officers, innocent bystanders in Leanis, and regular mentions of the Haviche and Quinas gang. The servants in the house clucked their tongues at the brewing conflict. Robin would only linger just enough to hear the news from the TV in the lounge area the servants occupied, but she'd leave before the news stories cut too deeply into her and severed her from reality.

Soon, fall slipped into winter and the news was worse. The stories no longer made sense. No one knew who started the gang war. But the death tolls were rising as Robin had predicted. Innocent bystanders ranging from children to beloved grandparents had lost their lives.

Robin's plan had worked too well. She recalled the meeting she held after her father approved it. She showed the underworld lords of Plegia the geographical and character maps she had made. They would out the daughter of Quinas to start. She hadn't realized that the daughter of the head of the Quinos gang was in a secret relationship with one of the right-hand men of the head of Haviche's gang. Some people speculated that it was revenge and others claimed that it was all part of the plan from the Haviche gang to take over Quinas's territory for good. Robin thought the man and woman were straight out stupid. It was so obvious that they should've never fraternized. The added tension that had resulted was luck: it gave her plan a synergistic edge.

The Grima Syndicate also broke their promise of keeping out of the two gangs' businesses, but by that time they were so angry with each other, they simply blamed each other. Then, as the death tolls rose, the corrupt police officers could no longer turn a blind eye to the illegal activities because of the pressures from the superiors and ironically, the president.

Robin chose to avoid altogether TV because the news was getting too much for her, but she did watch her father giving the talk on cracking down on drug trade in Leanis. It was made her sick to the stomach. She endured though. This was her her punishment. It paled in comparison to what others were going through.

While Lon'qu's return provided some stability in her life, Robin now grappled with the guilt she had traded for his life. The staff fretted over her again over her deteriorating health again. Lon'qu had carried her to her bed on numerous occasions when he passed out in the library.

Often, she spent her nights awake, lying in bed listening to the deafening silence of her prison. She didn't ask for anything of this. It wasn't fair. What did she do to deserve this? Later in the night she would hear Lon'qu fighting his own nightmares in the room that was adjoined to hers. Then when his tossing and turning died down, she'd eventually fall asleep from exhaustion.

But one night, something shattered in his room followed by a heavy thud. Shards of glass skittered across the floor.

"Fuck."

The sounds startled Robin and adrenaline electrified her and made her body tingle. "Lon'qu?" she called out, climbing out of bed. Despite that the heat was on high for the manor, her feet were chilled with every step she took to the door in between their rooms.

On the other side of the door that had never been opened before, she could hear grumbling and the crunching of glass.

"Lon'qu, are you okay?" asked Robin against the door, one hand on the door handle. "Lon'qu, please answer me."

"Go back to bed," he snapped. "I'm fine." He cursed again.

"What happened? Can I come in?" asked Robin.

"Go back to bed."

Robin tried turning the door knob to see that they had never locked it in the first place. She slowly opened the door to find Lon'qu on the floor staring at his right arm and hand in the dark. The blood and glass shards embedded in his skin glimmered under the moonlight.

"I'm fine." He glared up at her and she would've flinched but she was too busy staring at her the scene. From what she could tell, the glass lamp had been knocked off his bedside table and then he fell off his bed and landed on his side.

When she was about to step forward to help him, Lon'qu scolded, "Stop! There's glass everywhere. Why do you never listen, Ke'ri?"

Robin mumbled something to herself and ran off to grab a broom and dustpan. She made quite the raucous, as she was unfamiliar with where the cleaning supplies was kept. And she also took a while. But she quietly appeared with a broom and dustpan in each hand and cleaned up the glass while Lon'qu tried to orient himself.

"Let me take a look after," said Robin softly under the sound of glass shards clinking against each other.

"I'm fine," said Lon'qu, still sitting on the ground, resting his bloodied arm on a propped knee.

"Don't be stupid, Lon'qu," said Robin, straightening up with a dustpan full of broken glass. "Do you know where you are? You don't look quite all there. You even called me another name…"

Lon'qu sighed and rubbed his temples.

Robin bit her lip, afraid that if she left to grab the first aid kit, Lon'qu would fade away. "Please stay there. Don't move," she whispered as a precaution before leaving.

This time, Robin returned with a large white box and set it down on the ground near Lon'qu and then flicked the light on in the room. Lon'qu winced at the sudden illumination in the room.

"Too bright?" asked Robin. She flicked it back off. "I'll grab my lamp." Robin went through the door between their rooms again and returned with a small lamp. Once she was ready with the small light and an open first aid kid, she settled down in front of Lon'qu.

"Will you let me?" asked Robin, holding up a pair of tweezers.

Hesitantly, he offered Robin his arm.

"Nightmares?" asked Robin.

Lon'qu didn't say anything.

"Not in the mood to talk. That's fine," said Robin to herself.

His face twitched every time she pulled out a shard on the outside of his forearm. When she rotated his wrist to see if the inside of his forearm had any glass jutting out of his skin, her eyes fell onto the scarring on the inside of the elbow. It was faded, but the dark splotches on his skin were undeniable. Lon'qu immediately twisted his arm out of Robin's hands, smearing red on her palm in the process.

"Are the nightmares from…Needles?" murmured Robin.

She gathered that Needles experimented on the human border between pain and pleasure. She had also learned that Needles had sexual fetishes that crossed the line of sick. She didn't want to believe it. Robin knew that Needles was part of the syndicate and was kept around for obvious reasons: torture. She hoped she'd never have a need for Needles, nor interact with the monster.

"Get out. Leave the kit. I can take care of it," said Lon'qu gruffly, nursing his arm close to him. Blood stained his white undershirt, but he didn't care.

Robin remained seated on the ground. "You're right-handed. You hurt your right arm. You'll do a garbage job of bandaging your arm up."

"I can manage. Leave," said Lon'qu. This time, he added a glare.

A laugh escaped from Robin. "Sorry," she said quickly. "Looks like you got your senses back. You seem to be awake enough to glare at me." She picked up a pack of gauze and ripped it open. "Just let me finish and I'll leave you. That or I'll call the ambulance, because I think those cuts might look deeper than I last remembered."

Lon'qu's stoic glare deepened.

"You don't think I'd do it?" asked Robin. "I've done worst." She lowered her gaze and a bitter smile twisted on her shadowed face. Robin wrapped her fingers around Lon'qu's right wrist and pulled it towards her. She was met with no resistance. "I'm sorry. I wish I could say that I wished that you never met me, but…it's nothing."

The foreign man in the foreign country stopped studying the tragic girl for the night and dropped his defenses. He watched her hands work as she cleaned his cuts and bandaged them up.

"They shouldn't scar. But even if they do, people think men with scars are cool. The ladies will adore you. We just need to come up with a good story. Now, if women have scars, then that's a problem. Or if you're 'brave' enough to show it off, you're empowered. This world is dumb. Avie was rambling about it a while back," said Robin. "She squabbles over the scar on my cheek whenever she does my makeup."

"You have a lot of energy considering it's so late at night," said Lon'qu.

"You're usually pretty quiet most of the time," rebutted Robin, securing the bandage in place. "I might've overdone it. But we can fix it tomorrow when we've both had enough sleep."

"Thank you, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu.

"For what? Calling you quiet?" said Robin.

His response was a deep breath.

"Sorry," murmured Robin. She packed the first aid kit and turned the lamp off.

Lon'qu still hadn't moved from the floor. He sat there, staring out the window.

Fragile wasn't a word she'd ever use to describe her personal bodyguard, but that was the first word that came to her head when she observed him. The quiet strength he had possessed prior to the incident was faint and his vulnerability had grown too large to be hidden or masked now.

She had broken him.

Her nose and throat burned and she tried to suppress the oncoming tears. She blinked back tears furiously, but her emotions overcame her and her eyes betrayed her. Swiftly, she swiped her tears away with the back of her hands.

"I'm fine," said Lon'qu.

Robin nodded, but continued to cry quietly. She had gotten a lot of practice crying silently ever since she left her grandfather's side. Guilt, sadness, and relief were the feelings she felt nowadays. Tonight, she couldn't tell which one it was.

She managed a quick apology between her sharp breaths. "This is so selfish of me."

"You should look out the window," said Lon'qu.

"Huh?"

"You did that lot at the hospital," said Lon'qu. There was an awkward hesitancy in his voice. "Sit here." He shifted a little away from the window to make room for her.

While puzzled to say none the least, she listened and moved beside him. He pointed outside the window with his good arm.

The sky was a sheet of mauve lavender blanketing the world, dusting snow onto the world. There was a distracting peaceful silence happening outside their tiny self-centered worlds. The last winter it had snowed in Plegia was the last winter she spent with her grandfather.

Robin relaxed against the bed and placed her hands at her side. When she did so, her pinky finger brushed against Lon'qu's. She had expected him to retract his hand from her touch, but he remained where he was. Perhaps it was because he was too tired.

As the quiet minutes slipped by, Robin intertwined her pinky finger with Lon'qu's. He didn't encourage her small gesture; however, he didn't discourage it either.

"I'm sorry. I did this to you."

Lon'qu's finger twitched underneath Robin's finger.

"You got me out."

"Hardly."

"Miss Grima?"

"Mmm?"

"Scars are our triumphs of our difficulties. An important person in my life told me that."

She wanted to say the words out loud, but the fear overshadowed her courage—the fear that he'd disappear from her side again. So, she settled for another one of the silences they often shared.

 _Stay by my side_.

* * *

 **A/N:** Also, happy birthday, Lucina, lol.

Thank you for everyone's patience with me taking 5ever to update. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	30. Fragile

**Warnings:** NSFW, implications of rape

 **Chapter 30: Fragile**

Her eyes were fixed on the elevator screen above the doors counting up the floors to '30' in dreadful red numbers. Anxiety further tightened around her chest like a python preparing to eat its prey with each passing floor.

26...27...28...29...

The elevator dinged, announcing her arrival on the thirtieth floor. Robin took a deep breath to calm her nerves before stepping out of the elevator onto the presidential suite floor of the Speedwing.

"Miss Grima," said Mustafa, raising both brows at the sight of her. "We weren't expecting you."

Robin greeted the head of security and smiled out of politeness. "I'm here to speak with my father."

"I see. Mr. President should be available. Was it about last night's dinner?" inquired Mustafa.

"Sharp as ever," said Robin. "Priam suggested that I come to talk to my father before he leaves."

Well, Priam didn't quite suggest it. He bitched and nagged her all day, and then threw her into the car and dumped her at the five-star hotel the Plegia president was staying at.

Mustafa and his men spoke amongst themselves before sending one of the suited men inside. He turned to her again. "It'll just be a moment. How's Lon'qu doing?"

"Hmm? Oh. Lon'qu isn't here," said Robin. "He's taking some time off."

Mustafa frowned. "Who's protecting you?"

"It's fine. I have Priam," said Robin.

"Priam isn't a trained bodyguard," said Mustafa. "All he has is a smart mouth."

"Mustafa, the world doesn't even know I exist. I'm sure almost everyone in Plegia aren't even aware that the president has a second daughter," said Robin. "It's fine. No one is going to kidnap me."

"Miss Grima."

"You don't have fuss over me."

The double door behind Mustafa opened. "Miss Grima, Mr. President will see you."

"Thank you," said Robin.

"I'll see you in September, Miss Grima," said Mustafa.

Robin's polite facade faltered: it was already solidified news that she was returning. Her father was already making his moves for her return. Robin quickly recovered and nodded. "Yes. See you in September." She briskly walked past him and the security detail into the presidential suite. The rest of the bodyguards had vacated the suite, leaving her father and her on their own.

Similar to the rest of the hotel, the theme of Ylissean royalty—whites, silvers and blues—was exaggerated in the presidential suite as well. The marble floor gleamed underneath the light of the chandelier shaped like a spiraling stairs. Her father was seated at the center of the suite on a white couch against the backdrop of an amazing view of the Ylisstol down below. He took a delicate sip from his glass of cognac.

"I've been expecting you," said Validar.

"I came here to apologize for my behaviour yesterday," said Robin.

Her father raised a brow. "Oh?"

"I was disrespectful—"

"You finally showed me some backbone yesterday. Don't ruin it. The next leader of the syndicate does not give out apologies like some whore spreading her legs for every man she wishes to please." His disapproving scowl contradicted his calm voice.

Robin's eyes fell to the floor, heat rising to her cheeks. She should've been used to her father's harshness by now, but she still had difficulty stomaching his words.

"Sit," said Validar.

"Yes, sir," said Robin.

He waited for her to take a seat from opposite of him before continuing. "Priam tells me you will return in a couple months. After you increase the efficiency of the operations in Ylisstol."

"I…" Robin paused. Priam must've set it up so that it seemed that she had come up with the idea. She didn't want to ruin things more than she already had.

"He said you wanted to test your abilities in a smaller playing field before returning home," said Validar. His snake eyes pierced into her, trying to pry what was the truth.

"That's the plan," confirmed Robin.

"Hmm. Good. It's about time you took your rightful place," said Validar. The ice clinked the glass when he took another drink. "Tell me, Robin, do you think this is unfair?"

"I didn't say that," said Robin.

"But you think it," said Validar.

Robin sighed. "I don't know what you want me to say. I'm doing everything you want. What more do you want me to say? To do?"

"Do you know why this is so important? Why you need to succeed me?" asked Validar. "It's not about carrying on my legacy. It's more than that.

"Robin, I love our country. I want it to thrive and I want my people to prosper, but as you know, Plegia has been poor for very long. Throughout history, it has been undermined by other countries, especially by Ylisse. War-torn, poverty-stricken, and orphaned.

"Like many, I grew up with nothing in the slums. I had nothing. I lost my father to the war before I was born and my mother…who knows what happened to that wench. Then someone gave me an opportunity. A chance. And he eventually became my mentor. He taught me the most important lesson I needed to know to get to where I am today: dirty work is necessary for the better good. He knew I had what it took to make a difference. I am someone who is willing to play the villain if it means doing the right thing for everyone else.

"Everything I have made from the syndicate, I have put it back into Plegia. International aid would've only further put us in debt and other countries would've held sanctions over our head for decades to come. Possibly centuries. I built Plegia ground up. I built Plegia's economy single-handedly. The people believe we're simply taxing the rich more, which we are, but the rich in Plegia work for the syndicate. Our methods may not be conventional, but we have done good work, Robin. It's a win-win for everyone."

Robin released her breath when her father finally stopped speaking. Her hands trembled, but as soon as she noticed them, she clasped them tightly into one another. She couldn't believe it. It terrified her to the core to realize that her father genuinely believed that he was doing the right thing. He truly believed that building Plegia on crime money and corruption was the path to prosperity. And the fact that the Plegians worshipped him for all he had done for the country—jobs, healthcare, better education, and infrastructure—had only further reinforced that he had done the right thing.

"At what cost?" she asked. "Plegia and a lot of people around the world are affected by the crimes of the syndicate now. Plegia will never be able to stand on her own feet the way you set it up. People don't trust the police and people are still dying in Plegia! Drowning our beloved country in crime and dirty money isn't the way to fix this. Don't you see how twisted it is? One day, your legacy will fall, Father."

Her father narrowed his eyes. "You are still young. You have had a pampered life. You do not know what true suffering is like."

He might as well as had slapped her across the face, but he knew words dug deeper. He always knew that. He utilized words like little knives, ready to carve pieces of her out.

"Don't you care about your people? You have a responsibility to them," said her father. "Has being in Ylisse make you soft? I don't need weakness from any of my offspring. You don't actually believe this is home, do you?"

The two polarizing sides of moral white and black pulled at her. As much as her home country was linked to loss and trauma, it was still home. No matter how long she lived in Ylisse, she was still a Plegian to them. She was still an outsider. She would never belong. To go against her father's wishes would mean the demise of an entire nation. But to follow her father's wishes would mean dedicating her life to crime and bloodied hands.

Robin deflated a little and her eyes downcast to the marble flooring. She had come this evening armed with a practice apology and was prepared to receive a severe reprimand, but here he was, laying out his cards.

"You have the potential to do more than what I have done, Robin," said Validar. "You could achieve your mother's dreams."

"Don't use her against me like this. You don't know what Mom would've wanted. Mom wouldn't have wanted you to turn her bakery into a franchise and to use it as a cover up to import drugs and launder money in Ylisse," said Robin coolly. "I can't even step into one of them without being disgusted. Grandpa would be heartbroken if he knew."

"That old man knows nothing."

"Then why am I not allowed to see him if he knows nothing?" asked Robin.

"Because he completed his role: maximizing your strategic abilities. We have no use for him now," said Validar. "He never knew what was good for Plegia. Lawrence didn't know what your mother wanted either. Amelie wanted a Plegia where no one lived in poverty and everyone had an equal opportunity to achieve their dreams. She was kind, but simple-minded. Idealism is sounds nice, but real change requires sacrifice."

"So what do you want from me?" asked Robin.

"Dearest Robin," said Validar. "We made a promise. Shouldn't you keep your end of the promise?"

It made her cringe inward.

"I let you study in Ylisse—" said her father.

"I wanted to go to Rosanne," said Robin. "Where Mom was born. You said I was only allowed me to go to Ylisse. So you would always have me in your grasp."

Validar raised his voice to warn Robin that he wouldn't tolerate another interruption. "The deal was, I let you study in Ylisse and in exchange for those years of freedom, you are to return to Plegia and to take your rightful position. It sounds like all this freedom and Ylissean flamboyance has gone to your head."

"It hasn't," said Robin. "It's given me perspective."

"Don't be stupid, Robin. I have no time for this shit," said her father. "I know you. You may be easily swayed by your emotions like your mother, but you have also inherited the grit to trudge through the trenches from me. You may be stubborn, but you're far from stupid."

Robin clenched the armrests of her chair. "You hardly know me, Father."

"What are you trying to say then? Are you saying that you'd rather live in ignorance for the rest of your life and let millions suffer? Or will you do the right thing?"

"You don't get it. If we continue this, it won't end well," said Robin. "Eventually, your empire will fall."

"We have no choice but to keep moving forward!"

She flinched. Robin wondered how desperate he had been to resort to such methods, and now she had to continue his farce for him. But she didn't know better: she had spent her entire life following orders and demands.

"I'm giving you the power that men only dream of. I want you to believe in this cause as I have." Validar got up from his seat and sat on the edge of the coffee table dividing them. He put down his glass and he took his daughter's hand. "There will always be crime. But we are controlling that crime. You have the potential for greatness, my daughter. With that brilliant mind of yours, you can do anything."

"Father."

"It's for the betterment of our country. Robin, there will always be sacrifice. If you don't do this, Plegia will fail and die. We can protect the country your mother loved so dearly, even if we couldn't protect her."

Her father was placing the weight of a entire country on her shoulders. Tears stung Robin's conflicted brown eyes. She withdrew her hand from her father's and she exhaled a shaky breath. If she was going to hell anyway, the least she could do is make a difference before she burned for all eternity. Robin wondered if she had done something unforgivable in her previous lives to have deserved all of this.

* * *

"Almost done!" exclaimed Vaike, fist-pumping the air.

"Do you have plans after?" asked Chrom, in the front passenger seat of the police car.

Vaike turned to Chrom with an excited smile. "Remember that forensics specialist, Miriel?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"She finally agreed to go on a date with the Vaikenator," said Vaike. "I had to ask her like ten times and I usually have no idea what she's going on about, but I actually kinda like listening to her talk. Y'know?"

To Chrom, it sounded like a terrible idea, but he didn't really have the right to judge. "That's great."

"How're you with your girl?" asked Vaike.

"Good. We're supposed to have dinner tonight," said Chrom. "I haven't seen her in a while. I think she's been swamped with stuff. She hasn't been really responsive on text either."

The long beep from the scanner in the police car cut their conversation short. "Attention all units, 10-71 at the intersection of Pine and Crest street. EMS has been notified."

"A shooting," said Chrom, frowning. He picked up the radio receiver and said, "126 headed that way."

"126, 10-4."

Vaike switched on the sirens and did a swift U-turn at the next intersection. "Fuck, man."

The cars parted away from the middle of the road at the sound of the siren and Vaike sped through the streets. The dispatcher continued to report every update and whoever else was on their way. One of the cars was Sully's. When they swerved into the more sketchy neighbourhood of Ylisstol, Chrom could hear consecutive gunshots pierce the air over the sirens. Then silence.

By the time they arrived at the location, adrenaline buzzed in his body. He was itching to run out. Vaike came to a screeching stop and they both jumped out of the cars with their guns aimed at the house riddled with holes and broken windows. It was too quiet. They made a swift prowl towards the house and followed the perimeter of the house to the side door.

Chrom nodded and Vaike turned the door knob to find it was unlocked. He opened it and Chrom entered first. "Police! Drop your weapons and put your hands up where we can see them!" Upon entering, the house reeked of weed.

Vaike followed behind Chrom, firearm posed. Chrom continued his way through the kitchen, slowly and carefully. They heard more police cars arrive outside of the house. When Chrom reached the living room, all he saw were bodies, bleeding out on the couch and floor. The one body was on the floor had an extended arm, as if he had been trying to reach for something. He lowered his gun and walked over to check the pulse of the men in the living room.

"I'll check upstairs," said Vaike before heading up the stairs.

Everyone was dead. From what he could tell, everything had happened instantly and it almost looked like the people in the house didn't know what hit them. It was like they were fish shot in a barrel.

"Upstairs is clear," said Vaike. His steps thundered down the wooden steps. "Hey, Sully."

Sully walked up beside Chrom and looked at the scene of three bodies and a punctured living room with shattered glass and wood chips. The coffee table had scattered syringes; bent, burnt spoons; and a small mount of aquamarine rocks laid on top of a plastic ziploc bag.

"They're all dead," said Chrom.

"This is Officer Cove, I'm with Officer Exalt and Dunn. We're going to need three body bags," said Sully into her radio. "The crime scene team should be arriving soon."

"Do you think this is all connected?" asked Vaike, standing near Chrom and Sully.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about all of it," said Chrom, frowning at the aquamarine pebbles. "I think oasys is involved though."

"Do you think this was a crack house?" asked Vaike.

"We'll have to investigate before we can confirm that, but I wouldn't be surprised if oasys was being sold and traded here," said Sully. "Look at how nice their fucking stuff is. And that pile of oasys right there"—she pointed to the aquamarine crystals—"is probably worked a couple tens of thousand gils."

* * *

Priam slammed his hands onto the back of the couch from behind, startling Robin and Gold Digger who were curled up on the couch together under a soft blanket. She glared up at him. He wore a wide grin on his face. He existed to annoy the crap out of her.

"Leave me alone," said Robin, readjusting onto her side on the couch.

"Why are you moping?" asked Priam. He walked around the couch and grabbed the remote. "Move over." Priam smacked Robin's butt with the remote.

"Fuck off," hissed Robin, sitting up on the far side of the couch with a dumb pug in her arms.

"Are you not getting laid?" teased Priam, plopping down beside her.

"Priam. I just quit my job a couple days ago to figure out how to fix the clusterfuck that you and the other idiots have made in Ylisse. I'm not in the mood to be your source of entertainment," said Robin.

"Weren't you supposed to see that idiot today? Why are you here? Oh, did he bail? Is that why you're moping?" asked Priam.

"Priam, I'm begging you. I don't want to deal with your bullshit today," said Robin.

Priam smirked and pointed the remote at her. "Oh. I hit the mark, eh?"

Robin scowled and held Gold Digger up to Priam's face. "Gold Digger, eat his face."

The pug grunted and huffed and then squirmed in Robin's hands. She let him go and he settled in between them and let out a happy fart with an equally happy pink tongue dangling from his mouth.

"You're useless, Gold Digger."

"I think we should change his name to Cock Blocker," said Priam.

"Priam, do you want to play the quiet game? Whoever stays quiet the longest wins," said Robin. "I'll even pay you."

"No, really. We need to change his name to Cock Blocker. I ordered this giant box of condoms for us—"

"Us? What do you mean us? I don't need a giant box of—"

"What do you mean you don't need a giant box of condoms? Everyone should have a giant box of condoms. Flavoured ones, ribbed ones, glow-in-the-dark ones, the ones that warm up, et cetera. There's a lot of different types. Don't worry, I'm sure they're small enough for his dick. And brat, the last thing we need is for you to be preggers. Now, try explaining that to Validad. He would probably just kill all of us and be done with it," said Priam. "Anywho, this little bugger"—Priam grabbed one of Gold Digger's fat rolls, earning him a nip—"decided it was a great idea to go into the box and chew them all up. He didn't manage to rip any of them open, but he gave all of them a hell of a chewing. I wouldn't surprised if this little fucker shits a condom on his next walk."

"You are a terrible pet owner. You shouldn't be allowed to own a dog," said Robin.

"Like you're any better. You can't even take care of yourself. And how old are you again?" said Priam.

Robin's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

"You're excused, brat," said Priam. "I don't care what you say. Use protection."

"I really don't want to talk to you about this," said Robin.

"Neither do I. But Lon'qu sure as hell ain't gonna give you the talk. He can't even keep his cool when a woman with a huge rack touches him," said Priam. "Besides it's hilarious watching you freak out over this."

"I'm not sixteen, asshole. I know what I'm doing," snapped Robin.

"Do you though? Do you really know what you're doing?" asked Priam. "Should I grab a banana and show you how to put a condom on a penis?"

"Have I ever told you that I hate you?"

"I love you too, brat." Priam reached over and pinched Robin's cheek.

"Ow, what the fuck, Priam!" Robin slapped his hand away and rubbed her cheek. "Holy shit, you're so fucking annoying. Why are you even home? Just stay in your room and leave me alone."

"Wow, where are your manners, brat?"

"They died the moment you showed up."

"Well, I thought I'd let you know things are going according to your plan. But something's come up."

"What do you mean?" She frowned in concern.

"There's always a bit a margin of error, brat," said Priam.

"What happened? What went wrong? My plan was so simple, how could anything go wrong?"

"It made the news just a couple minutes ago," said Priam, pulling his phone out to show her.

Three dead in gang-related shooting.

"What? But I gave no orders for such a thing," said Robin.

"Well, to be fair, you just said to hijack the bakery van and the driver. You didn't clarify how our people had to execute it," said Priam. "But making the news isn't good."

Error and deviation weren't something she was accustomed to. Robin was used to having control over every piece and every move. The plan was strategized in a shorter time span than she would've wanted, but she had thought everything down to the tee. After the explosion in the broad daylight with the bakery van, she knew the Triad was starting to get ballsy. The drug smuggling operation of their drug, oasys, was maintained with heavy lips. So were their more intimate businesses with escorts. Either one of their people slipped up and said something to the wrong person or there was a snitch. She leaned towards the latter since some of their call girls were starting to go missing too.

At first, Priam thought her idea wasn't well-thought out, but she had him confirm the deliveries of the bakeries. He pointed out that the snitch could've been someone in management rather than a driver. Robin was already one step ahead. She had reviewed all the potential suspects and narrowed it down to a couple drivers. If she was wrong and Priam was right, they would get the drivers to confess who they were working with.

The drivers had to pick up ingredients from the warehouses near the factories on the outskirts of Ylisstol. From what she understood, they also received and distributed their other cargo on these trips. Priam wasn't wrong. She was rusty. However, her strategy was simple enough that it was worth a shot. She had him attach trackers on all the vans and find the one that happened to stay in the Chon'sin Triad's territory longer than the other vans. There was a match after a couple days.

The plan was question the driver. It was a good start. She needed to be able to trust her people—well, trust criminals as much as she could—before getting started.

But that was the thing. Everything had gone according to plan, but she forgot one important detail: humans weren't playing pieces of a board game of chess or fire emblem. They were human. They had their own motivations, desires, and fears. There would always be human error. She had wanted this to be a discreet mission, but it escalated into a shooting.

"Now the police are going to sniffing about," said Robin.

"And I think I know why your Ylissean boy toy went silent today," said Priam.

"Can you please stop calling Chrom derogatory names?" asked Robin.

"Why? It's fun," said Priam. "That's him, right?" He enlarged the news article photo on his phone. There were two people carrying body bags out of a trashed house and a crowd of cops, but the blue-haired man was impossible to misidentify. "He was the first on the scene."

Of course, he was the first officer on the scene, thought Robin.

"Are they okay?" asked Robin.

"Who? Our people or…you're not actually asking about the Ylissean pigs, are you?" asked Priam.

"Nevermind," said Robin, getting up from her seat. "I'm heading out. Keep me updated."

"Or you could just read the news like a normal person," Priam called over his shoulder.

"You know what I mean!" Robin shouted from her room.

Robin didn't leave the house without one last squabble with Priam. He decided it was a great idea to throw a handful of condoms at her while she was trying to put her shoes on, which caused her to snap at him for being an 'inappropriate piece of shit that deserves to die of gonorrhea'. She said that he was demented for thinking that she was going over to have sex with Chrom while this shit was going on.

His response was that men all think with their dicks. Except him. He was a superior human male. Robin slammed the condo door while rolling her eyes and left him home alone with the gassy pug.

* * *

Exhausted, Chrom arrived at his apartment. He emptied his pockets and threw his wallet, keys, and phone onto the kitchen counter. As he turned to walk away and hop into the shower, he stopped and turned back around.

Robin.

He had completely forgotten that Robin and him had a dinner date. He had been looking forward to seeing her again. Their schedules refused to match up together for a couple days now and Wednesday was the only day that worked. Wednesday was almost over.

Chrom groaned. "Crap." He snatched the phone off of the counter and saw that he had a couple texts from Robin.

Hey, I'm ready when you are

So…I'm guessing something came up at work :(

I was looking forward to seeing you again, but I guess we can reschedule. Let me know, I need to talk to you about something

But before he could respond, an incoming call interrupted him. It was Robin. He answered it.

"Are you okay?" Robin's voice sounded frantic.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about missing our date," said Chrom. "Something came up at work."

"I don't care about that. Are you okay? I saw you on the news," said Robin.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you were in the main picture on the Ylissean Sun news website. The one about the gang shooting," said Robin.

"I'm fine," said Chrom. "Don't worry about it. Just work. You said you needed to talk about something?"

"Yeah," said Robin.

"Is it serious?" asked Chrom.

"Umm…I'm not sure. I guess you can decide," said Robin.

"Okay…" said Chrom.

"Would you like some company?" she asked.

He welcomed the idea of spending some time with Robin. Whenever there were more difficult cases, he found that being around others usually made him feel better, even if it meant being nagged endlessly by his sisters. He smiled at the thought of holding Robin.

"Yeah, that would be nice."

"Oh, thank goodness, because I'm actually right outside your building door. I brought some food. I had a feeling you probably hadn't eaten yet," said Robin.

"Awwe, babe, really?" said Chrom.

From her silence, Chrom could imagine her blushing on the other end of the phone. He chuckled.

"Let me in?" asked Robin.

"Yeah, I'll come down," said Chrom, heading over to the door and slipping on his shoes.

"You can just buzz me in," said Robin.

"No, I'll come down to get you," said Chrom.

"This is so unnecessary," said Robin.

Chrom stayed on the phone with Robin until he arrived on the first floor. He needed to hear her voice to help him keep his mind off of things until he unwinded.

"Hey," greeted Robin with a shy smile. She hung up her phone and pocketed it. In her other hand, she carried a large plastic bag filled with plastic food containers. Somehow, she still looked damn good in a plain white t-shirt, jeans, and an open dark violet coat.

"Hey," said Chrom.

They walked to each other and Chrom embraced her and kissed her cold cheek. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent; she smelled like light vanilla mixed with something else he couldn't figure out. He would have to ask her some time. Robin wrapped her free arm around him and patted him on his back.

"I'd hug you back, but I'm carrying food," said Robin.

Chrom leaned back, still hugging Robin. "Do I get a kiss?"

Cheeks dusted with rosy pink, her eyelashes fluttered up when she looked up at him. "You're rather demanding today." She smiled and stood on her tiptoes to peck him on his lips. It was too short to savour, but he took what he could get.

Robin eventually pried him off, but he still found a way to wrap his around her shoulders from behind as they made their way back to his apartment. She grumbled about how he was heavy and it was taking longer, but he just grinned at her and she didn't shove him off.

"I hope you can do spicy," said Robin, opening all the food containers and spreading them out on his dinner table.

"Spicy?" He was a baby when it came to spice. "Pfft, yeah. I can do spicy."

His girlfriend's eyes flicked up to him as she opened the last container. "You sure?"

"Yeah," said Chrom. "Why? Why are you giving me that look of disbelief?"

"I'm not," said Robin.

"You are," said Chrom, coming around the table.

"What are you—"

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled him towards her. She squealed and giggled when he tickled her.

"You don't believe me," said Chrom, against her ear. He held her tight despite her squirming.

"Stop! Chrom, stop!" she shouted in between her gasps and laughter. "I'm going to pee my pants! You win! I believe you!"

He let her go and watched her retreat to the opposite side of the table.

"There's an Ylissean stereotype," said Robin, taking a seat.

"Yeah?" said Chrom, sitting down with her. He loved listening to her soft Plegian accent. It was so her. He could listen to it all day long.

"That Ylisseans can't handle heat," said Robin. She spooned some potatoes and vegetables and what looked like fiery red chicken.

"What about Plegians?" asked Chrom while studying the different dishes in front of him. The steam rising from the food made his eyes water. Either the dishes had chillies in them or it was just red. He gulped. How bad could it be?

"Us? Honey, Plegians are born under the scorching sun. In the desert. We thrive in the heat. That's why are fruits are so good. There's a lot of sun," said Robin.

"That explains why you're so hot," said Chrom.

Robin flushed and looked down at her food. "You should try the soup. It's smells pretty good. Not as good as the stuff Lon'qu makes, but it'll have to do."

"How is he doing?" asked Chrom, grabbing the soup. When he stirred it, he saw that there were some vegetables, rice, and chicken. No chillies. And the soup was yellow, not red, so he assumed that it was probably safe.

"Who?" asked Robin.

"Lon'qu," said Chrom.

"I don't know," said Robin quietly, lowering her fork. "I'm not sure what he's up to."

She looked like she missed him. Chrom spooned some of the soup into his mouth. He wondered what she looked like when she missed him. Then, his thoughts were dashed when his mouth started to burn.

"How's the soup?" asked Robin. She reached over with a spoon and took some soup. "Mmm, not bad," she said in mild surprised. "It's pretty good."

"Yeah, it's great," said Chrom, taking a couple more spoonfuls. His body accused him of being a liar and his eyes watered.

"Oh! Try the chicken!" Robin offered him a piece of chicken on her fork.

How could he say no to that? How could he say no to an excited, adorable Robin offering him food on her fork? His mouth was giving him the middle finger, but he took the chicken from her fork and chewed. He forced his best smile and held up a thumbs-up. Her good intent tasted delicious. The actual chicken? Spicy as hell.

"You know, I wish they added some more spice," said Robin. This time, she tried some of the noodles.

Chrom coughed. "Y-yeah. They should've used more spice."

"Are you okay?" asked Robin. She looked so worried for him. "Am I talking too much?"

He shook his head. It wasn't that at all. His mouth felt like an inferno, but he wouldn't give in. His baby had gone out of her way to feed him food after a shitty day. How could he not eat it?

"Wait…can you handle spice? Or did you lie?" asked Robin. "You're starting to sweat a lot. And your face is red."

"No, this is great," he denied. He could handle spice. For Robin.

"Oh for the love the gods, don't lie to me," said Robin.

Chrom tried to make the point that he was fine by taking something off of Robin's lid plate and ate it. The burning continued in his mouth and once he started to breathe heavily and Robin shot him a flat look, he knew the jig was up.

"Okay. I admit it! I'm dying!"

He bolted up from his seat and ran to the kitchen sink. He didn't bother getting a cup; he simply switched on the sink tap and drank from it. Gods, it felt so good to have his tongue cooled. Once he had alleviated what essentially was a third degree burn in his mouth, he turned off the tap and straightened up.

"Why didn't you say something?" huffed Robin. "Eugh, no. I should've asked if you liked spicy food before I bought it. It's just the rest of the restaurants looked like they were going to give us food poisoning."

"No, it's okay," said Chrom. "I'm full."

"Well, I mean looking at how much water you drank, I'd be surprised if you weren't. Okay, so you can eat spicy food just as well as you can play guitar," said Robin.

"Ha. Ha. Actually, this one time, Vaike challenged me to eat a spoonful of pepper—"

Robin cut him short, "Chrom, I don't want to hear about the time you almost died from pepper. That's just sad. Like a turtle stuck on its back sad."

"Fair enough."

"Do you want me to order pizza?" asked Robin.

Chrom walked over to her, cupped her face, and kissed her on the forehead. "Yes. You are amazing. Pizza would be great."

"I thought you were full."

"There is always room for pizza."

* * *

The couple had settled down on the couch once the pizza arrived. Chrom inhaled several slices after peeing out all the water he had drunk from the tap. Robin eyed his strong jawline as he chewed his fifth slice of pizza. She wanted to trace along it and run her fingers through his soft locks.

"I needed this. Thank you," said Chrom.

"I'm glad I got to see you tonight," said Robin. "We seriously need to stop hanging out late all the time though. My friends and Priam are probably thinking I'm just making booty calls."

Chrom chuckled. "Okay, let's try to have more daytime dates. But I don't mind nighttime dates either."

"Stop that," said Robin.

"Stop what?"

"You're doing that thing again."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." But his smile said he knew exactly what he was doing. Chrom leaned back on the opposite side of the couch from Robin. His hand rested on her calf and then it travelled up and down the length. "How was your day?"

"Fine."

"Anything good happen at the hospital?" asked Chrom.

She bit her lip. That was one of the things she still needed to talk to him about. "I don't work at YGH anymore."

Chrom perked up from his seat, scooting closer to Robin. "Why? What happened?"

"I quit," said Robin. "I needed a break."

"Is everything okay?"

No.

"Yeah, everything's fine." She smiled and shook her head. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You know you can talk to me, right, babe?" said Chrom.

Robin nodded. "Yeah. It's just a bit of a private matter. I just need some time."

He reassured her with a kiss and lingered afterwards, their lips brushing against one another. His lips slowly caressed hers. It was like he was waiting for her to open up to him and to return his affections.

"We may not have known each other for a long time," he whispered, "but I'm here for you."

The rational, calculating side of her wanted to tell him that she was bad for him and nothing good was going to come out of this, but he made her feel so safe with his damned gentle words. He made her want to trust him. To seek out a selfish happiness. He made her vulnerable and she didn't know what to do.

And with each kiss, he inched her out of her comfort zone and Robin's logic was shoved further into the back of her mind. Before she realized it, her arms were snaked around his neck and she was moaning into his mouth. Their bodies built friction together and his hands trailed up her back, holding her against him.

Robin pulled back. "What if I hurt you?"

"I think I'll take my chances." His lips were already against her neck, sucking at the delicate skin.

"Mmm." She felt his lips curl for a moment before he continued. When his teeth grazed her collarbones, she closed her eyes and tipped her head back. Her body tingled, craving more.

Then, he pulled away, filling her with disappointment. "Do you want to move to the bedroom? I'll make pancakes for us tomorrow morning."

They both shared uneven breaths and Robin looked down at him and smiled. Of course he'd offer pancakes.

Robin nodded. She wanted this even if her head spun and her heart pounded. She wanted to try with him. He made her feel safe.

"Okay," said Chrom, wrapping her legs around his waist. He lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Chrom let her down onto the floor after he closed the bedroom door behind them. He pulled off his shirt before claiming her lips again. Robin ran her hands down his toned chest and stomach. She smiled in between their kisses.

His hand rested on top of his, dragging it back up to his chest. "I work out."

"Wow, Chrom. I couldn't tell," said Robin. She meant to make it sound sarcastic, but it came out as husky.

"I try to work out whenever I have time," said Chrom, while undoing his pants.

Man, they sucked at dirty talk.

"I sleep as exercise," said Robin. She took her time taking her pants off. Nerves started to outweigh her carnal desire to go all the way.

"Did you pick those out for me?" asked Chrom. His fingers played with the hem of her t-shirt, sliding it up her navel, closer and closer to her chest.

She knew he was referring to her lacy panties. "Would you be disappointed if I said I just like wearing nice underwear on a regular basis?"

"No. That's hot," said Chrom, finally managing to slip her out of her t-shift and tossing it aside.

"Oh," said Robin. She still felt warm even though she was nearly naked in front of Chrom.

Chrom threw off the corner of his blanket and invited her to climb into bed with him. She took his hand and joined him under the covers. They picked up where they had left off. Chrom pulled her leg up his hip and his hand slid up to her hip before exploring the rest of her curves.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," she said.

He reached around her to try to undo her bra. Albeit, it was a little uncomfortable at first, but then she found it funny and giggled. "You can use a gun but can't figure out a bra," said Robin.

"I hate it admit it, but I'm a bit rusty," said Chrom. "Wait, not my dick. That works fine."

She undid the bra herself and threw it over Chrom. Robin pressed herself against Chrom's chest and whispered, "That's okay. I don't think I've really done this."

Their lips met again and Robin started to feel the unease that she wouldn't be able to turn back soon. It scared her, but she also wanted go all the way. The only thing that separated them now aside from their panties was her hand that was sliding down his defined abs. Her fingers played with the waistband of his boxers, but didn't dare to venture further.

Chrom's hand guided Robin's hand and pushed the boxers past his hips. "Don't be shy," he whispered.

Hesitantly, her hand wrapped around his hardening cock and stroked. He released a strained breath and buried his face into her neck. Robin tried again, but this time with a little more pressure. Her blood sang and her heart drummed in her ears as touched Chrom. She had no idea what she was doing, but he seemed to be enjoying it enough. When she drew little circles around his tip, he twitched and hissed her name.

"If you keep going you're going to make me cum before we have any fun," said Chrom, grabbing her hand from down below and intertwining his fingers between hers. He kissed her hand before leaving her side to grab a condom.

"Do you think it'll fit?" she asked.

"Now you're just stroking my ego." When he was done putting the condom, he caressed her face. "Robin, you're so beautiful."

She stared back at him and gave him a small, uneasy smile.

It was when he tried to remove her panties that her hand flew down to his, stopping him. Her heart raced, but not in a good way. Her brain persuaded her that everything was going to be okay, but her body said the opposite. It told her to run. That this was going to hurt.

"Too fast?" asked Chrom.

Robin swallowed back her polarizing thoughts and reactions. "No, no. It's fine." She took her panties off herself. "See? I'm fine."

"Okay," said Chrom.

"L-Let's keep going," said Robin. She wanted to do this.

He adjusted himself so that he was above her, but when she felt that hardness brush against her inner thigh, her blood went cold and she recoiled.

"What is it?" asked Chrom.

Robin propped herself on her elbows and shook her head. Chrom gave her some space and she took the opportunity to sit up and hug the blanket against her chest. She tried to take deep breaths in poor efforts to calm her nerves.

"What's wrong?" asked Chrom. He touched her shoulder out of concern, but it made her flinch and withdraw from him. "Robin, did I do something wrong?"

"Sorry, I just need a moment." Robin sighed and buried her face in her knees.

Several moments passed as Robin wracked her brain for some excuse to tell Chrom, but before she could speak, he spoke first. "You don't have to share with me…but did someone hurt you in the past? Am I hurting you?"

Robin's teary eyes met Chrom's concerned ones. "No, I…"

"Whenever we get intimate, I think I scare you," said Chrom.

"It's not you," said Robin. "I…" She sighed. "I really want this, Chrom." She reached over and took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I want to have sex with you. Or do the 'shame shame' as one of my friends call it."

They both laughed quietly in the dark at her attempt to lighten the situation. She couldn't think up of a lie for this, so she decided to tell the truth as best as she could. "During the summer after my first-year in med school, I met someone. And he forced himself onto me whenever I didn't do what he wanted. He hurt me a lot. Over and over again. So I'm kinda messed up and I have a lot of problems with intimacy."

"Robin, you're not messed up. I can't…I can't believe someone would do that." Robin heard the anger underlining his words.

"It was a long time ago," said Robin, trying to brush it off like it was nothing. But it wasn't nothing. "I really do want to do this with you, Chrom. I do."

"It's okay," said Chrom.

"I think this is the first time I could talk about it without breaking down," said Robin. "You make me feel safe." She exhaled. It felt like a heavy weight had lifted off of her chest. "I want to do this."

Chrom held her hand tighter. "You know what happened was not your fault, right? And I don't want to hurt you. I would never hurt you."

"I know, snuggle bunny," said Robin, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I thought I was fine. I don't have any problem pleasuring myself."

She couldn't look him in the eye. Not when all she was accustomed to was the look of pity or shame people gave her whenever her past came up. She didn't need that right now. And despite the fear and anxiety gnawing at her in the back of her mind, she still wanted him. She wanted to feel him. Her courage overrode her urge to run.

"Can we…try again?"

The bed shifted when Chrom adjusted himself. "Only if you want to. Is there anything that would make you more comfortable?"

"Just take it slow," said Robin, sliding back into the sheets again and tugging Chrom's hand to join her.

Instead of going on top of her, he laid beside her and pulled her close. This time, his kisses were cautious and there was a hesitancy in his touches.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," he whispered. "I wish I could've done something."

"Chrom," said Robin. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Okay."

She hooked her leg around his hips to bring their intimate parts closer. Chrom took that as cue to continue off where they had stopped. He kissed her hard, helping her forget about all her problems for a little longer. He gripped her thigh, then cupped her bottom.

"Are you sure? We can wait," said Chrom. "I don't mind."

"Just make love to me, baby."

"I won't make you repeat yourself."

Robin closed her eyes when she felt the tip of his erection rub against her lips. Her fingernails dug into his arm and she was still uneasy, but it was Chrom. This time it was different. The man she was with wasn't trying to take power away from her nor hurt her. He wasn't using sex against her. He wasn't going to hurt her. She knew that.

"Please be gentle," she whispered.

"I will."

She gasped when he started to push into her. Chrom pressed a kiss on her forehead. "You're so tight." He pulled out a little and lifted her leg a little higher before pushing further in. Robin buried her face into his chest and let out a small cry. Even when he was fully in, his thrusts into her were slow, giving her the opportunity to become wetter.

Robin whimpered, "Don't stop."

Chrom took care to go at Robin's pace, entering her gently over and over again. Resistance faded with each stroke and soon he could feel her uneven, hot breath against his skin. Robin's hand searched for his and once she found it, she held on tight.

He stopped.

"Chrom?" she breathed.

"I'm changing our position. Is that okay?"

She nodded.

He rolled her onto her back and laid on top of her. Her breasts rose and fell with each breath. His kisses distracted her and he sought out her hands. He entered her more deeply than before and he watched Robin's lips part and listened the most arousing moan escape from her. Chrom joined her and groaned in pleasure.

"You'll finally get revenge on your neighbours for having loud sex," breathed Robin.

"Let's hope we can get a lot of revenge in the days to come."

Robin wrapped both her legs around his waist as he established a firm pace. He earned himself a quiet, yet delicious moans every time he hit her sweet spot and each time, her fingers dug deeper into his back. His low groans joined the slapping of their hips and the rhythmic creaking and thumping of the bed. Their sweaty bodies built up friction and as Chrom held her hands tighter and thrust harder and faster, she knew he was approaching his climax. Robin also felt a pleasant sensation starting to build up down below too.

"Oh gods, Robin," cried Chrom in between his pants. "Oh gods." He pressed his face against her neck, desperately savouring her scent.

"Come for me, Chrom," said Robin.

As if she had said the magic words, Chrom moaned loudly and milked out his release with a couple more abrupt thrusts. When he was done, he collapsed on top of Robin, panting heavily. Her fingers entangled themselves in his hair and she waited him to come down from his high.

"Did you finish?" he asked as caught his breath.

"No, but I'm okay," said Robin.

"No, that won't do. That's not fair," said Chrom.

"I had a good time. We can focus on me next time," said Robin.

"I can just take a trip down and make you call my name out a little longer. I don't mind," said Chrom.

"I'll take you up on your offer for the next time I'm over for pancakes," said Robin. "Right now, I just want to lie here with you tonight."

"Okay," said Chrom, still resting on her breasts. "Do you want to use the bathroom first?"

"Sure," said Robin.

"Let me let you go." He strained when he sat up and dealt with the condom. Meanwhile, Robin told Chrom not to peek and she headed to the washroom.

When they had both cleaned up, they settled back into bed in one another's arms. Their legs tangled in each other's and their lips brushed against one another at every opportunity. Chrom whispered sweet-nothings at her and she smile widened.

Once she came down from everything, an emotional tidal wave hit Robin, causing her throat to clamp up and her eyes to sting with tears. She sniffled.

"Baby, what's wrong?" asked Chrom, concern ruining his handsome face.

"I don't know," choked Robin.

Chrom wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "I'm here." He snuggled her closer to him to leave no space for negative emotions.

"Thank you, Chrom."

"Thank you for opening up."

Safe wasn't a familiar feeling for Robin. Neither was feeling loved. She didn't know if she could call what Chrom did 'love', because she didn't have enough experience with it. But even if it was temporary, she felt both lying in his arms. At the back her mind, she was afraid that she would grow attach to this temporary feeling.

"Are you asleep?" asked Chrom.

Robin looked up at Chrom. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I just remembered that you said you wanted to talk to me about something. Was what we talked about earlier what you wanted to talk about or…?"

"Oh, right."

Being naked in bed after having sex with Chrom made her not only feel exposed physically, but also emotionally. Maybe it was all the chemicals flooding her brain. Maybe it was oxytocin—the scientists loved using oxytocin as the hormone to explain everything love and cuddles related. Whatever it was, Robin didn't have the energy to fight him nor herself. He deserved the truth.

"I'm leaving Ylisse in a couple months," said Robin. Chrom stiffened against her under the blanket. "My family requires me back in Plegia. That's why I quit my job. I've spent my years in Ylisse either studying or working. I thought I'd try to enjoy the little time I have left here. Phila doesn't even know yet. I haven't told her."

"So then…what about us?" asked Chrom.

"That's what I want to talk to you about. This won't continue once I leave."

"Why?"

"Because it can't. It won't work."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do."

Chrom sighed.

"So, I'd understand if you'd want to break it off sooner so we can save each other the trouble."

"What do you want?"

She wasn't expecting that. People never asked what she wanted. They only told her what she should do or what she shouldn't do. And here was Chrom, asking her what she wanted.

"I don't know."

"You know what I want?"

"What?"

"I want to see where this goes. I like you too much to call it quits."

"Even if it won't end well?"

"Well, we don't know that for sure. But everything in life is about taking chances, isn't it?"

"I guess so."

"We'll figure it out, Robin. For the time being, let's try to enjoy each other's company."

"You're taking this surprisingly well."

"No, I'm upset, but will that change anything?"

"No."

"So, let's be positive."

"Chrom?"

"Mmm?"

"You're too good for me."

Chrom gave her one last kiss before he fell asleep first.

A couple hours later, Robin's phone woke her. She cursed whoever was calling her so late and hoped it didn't wake Chrom. Robin answered her phone, "One moment." She set it down on the bedside table and grabbed a shirt off the floor and slipped it on.

"Robin?" Chrom mumbled, picking his head up from his pillow. "Where are you going?"

She made a mental note that he was a light sleeper like her. She climbed back onto the bed on all-fours and kissed him on his cheek. "I'll be back. Phone call."

"Mmm…don't take too long. I miss you already," murmured Chrom.

"I'll be quick," said Robin. She grabbed the phone again but didn't speak into it until leaving the bedroom with the door firmly closed behind her.

Robin curled up on the couch, the only thing keeping her warm was Chrom's cool t-shirt. She already missed Chrom's presence beside her and his arm wrapped protectively, possessively around her.

She rubbed her eyes and sighed. "Priam, this better be important."

"We found the snitch."

* * *

 **A/N:** EUGHH =_=

Writing fanfics. Where you must be able to write all genres.

(I finally made them do the nasty. :D)


	31. Underestimating Him

**A/N:** Special thanks to LaceKyoko for reading over this chapter and telling me that it was fine after I grappled with it close to a over a week past my planned posting date. Okay, she said it was more than fine. I sending you all the hearts, LaceKyoko 333

On a side note, fluff is hard.

* * *

 **Chapter 31: Underestimating Him**

Waking up to the smell of breakfast in the morning was something she had sorely missed since Lon'qu had left. So the aroma of pancakes and fresh coffee was welcoming to Robin. She smiled and sighed happily before opening her eyes. Then, she stretched out like a cat trying to wring the sleep out of her body. It still felt very early in the morning.

Robin turned to her side to confirm that Chrom wasn't in the bed with her. With a smug smile, she yanked the blanket to herself and curled up—they had spent the entire night playing sleeping tug-a-war. Next, she grabbed her phone behind her and checked to see what she missed. The first thing she noticed was that it was 6:11 am. She had been right, it was still early. If she still had a job, she wouldn't have thought it was early, but after quitting her job at the hospital and being up late until ungodly hours pouring herself over the notes and maps Priam had given her, her sleep schedule was a mess. Her phone notified her that she didn't have any new emails, but there were a couple texts from Aversa and several from Phila. She would get around to them once she could register her thoughts better.

"You're up," said Chrom. Robin lowered her phone and picked up her head to see Chrom entering the bedroom. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Morning." Robin gave Chrom a coy smile. "Do you always walk around only in boxers at home?"

"Usually," said Chrom. "But I don't think you mind, since you weren't complaining last night."

Her words were muffled by the blanket when she slowly buried her face into the blanket to hide her flaming blush. "Not fair. Attacking me in the first thing in the morning."

She relaxed when she heard him laugh. Chrom dug her out of her blanket nest and kissed her on the forehead. "I made breakfast. I would bring the food here, but I can really clumsy. I know I'll end up spilling everything."

"I'll be out in a bit." Robin self-consciously shifted under the blanket when she felt kind of bare down below.

"Just come with," said Chrom, finding her hand in the blanket and pulling it out.

"I need a moment," Robin protested, pulling her hand back with surprising strength.

"Okay," said Chrom slowly, confused yet yielding to her. Then his eyes flicked over to behind her before returning to her and he tried his best not to smile, but a grin spread to his eyes. "I'll be outside." And as promised, he left.

Robin picked her head up to make sure he was gone. Once she was reassured that he wasn't going to show up again, Robin dug her out of the warm bed and regretted it the moment she left. The moment she climbed out of bed, she spotted the obvious location of her bright lacy panties on the floor in the corner. She knew why Chrom smiled the way he did.

Smart ass, she thought, but he had been courteous enough not to tease. One foot after the other, she pulled up her panties. Man, did she want a shower and fresh clothes. Next time if she stayed over, she needed to plan better and bring an overnight bag. And now, she had to do the walk of shame. She paused. Did it count if she was technically staying at her boyfriend's place?

Well, at least she wore casual clothes. However, knowing her quick-witted lobby man, he'd know. Jarold always knew. She didn't know who was worse, the condominium building owner who probed Lon'qu and her make-belief childless marriage, or Jarold who said nothing and silently judged everyone (or thats what Robin thought). She shrugged. She would have to deal with it.

Outside on the kitchen table, there were two stacks of pancakes. Robin had to admit she was impressed and actually looked forward to trying Chrom's pancakes. Maybe she could get over a childhood of terrible waffles and pancakes today.

"Coffee?" asked Chrom.

"No, not today. Sometimes, caffeine makes me anxious," said Robin, taking a seat.

"What would you like then?" asked Chrom, while pouring himself a cup from the coffee pot.

"Water," said Robin. "You know, you're the only person I know that still has a coffee pot machine. Most people own capsule coffee machines. Aside from Phila, who decided that she needed a high-end espresso machine. But we've established she's crazy."

"Actually," started Chrom, offering her a glass of water, "my sister, Lissa, gave me this long spiel on how those 'evil machines' have contributed vast amounts of plastic waste. She hates them because of the one-use thing contributes to consumerism and landfills."

"I see," said Robin. "Don't tell your sister, but I'm evil and I have one of those evil wasteful machines."

"It's okay. I used to have one too, until she stole it and sold it on the Internet and donated that money to save penguins," said Chrom, sitting down across from Robin.

"She sounds like quite the character. You have two sisters, right?" asked Robin.

"Yeah, Emm and Lissa. I'm in the middle," said Chrom. "Emm works for the government in healthcare policies and Lissa is an elementary school teacher. You?"

Chrom reached across the table and poured syrup over her pancakes. The brown, viscous liquid flow over edges of the pancakes and drip down the sides. Kind of like it was openly bleeding.

"Robin?"

"Sorry, what?"

"Do you have any siblings?"

Robin picked up her fork and knife and sliced into the pancake stack. "Yeah, an older sister."

"What does she do? If you're a doctor, I'm going to take a wild guess here and say she's a professor. Or lawyer?"

"No, my father never really pushed Aversa as much as he pushed me. She's actually in the fashion industry, which is probably more cutthroat than academia or medicine," said Robin. She took a bite and was pleasantly met with a fluffy sweetness. "This is pretty good."

Chrom spread his arms out. "Praise me more. You better eat every single Chrom."

"No. No shitty puns with your name first thing in the morning. I think Priam is rubbing off on me, because I totally took that the wrong way until I thought about it," said Robin. "But here,"—she pretended to sprinkle something towards Chrom—"have some validation and praise."

"Wait."

"What?"

There was an excited glint in his eyes. "This is going to be a bit of a stretch, but is your sister by any chance…the Aversa Grima?"

Robin drank her water, taking her time. "Do I have to answer that?"

He slammed his hands down on the table top, making Robin jump. "No. Way."

Robin had never seen Chrom look that downright flabbergasted before. "Yeah, I know," said Robin, looking down at her plate. "Even if you did, please don't tell me that you grew up jerking off to her with your friends. I really don't want to hear that and I hate it when people say that when they find out she's my sister. She's actually a human being, not a sex object."

"Yeah, absolutely. She's a human being," said Chrom, proceeding to take a large bite of pancakes.

"Wow, you didn't even try to deny it," said Robin flatly.

"To be fair, there is no way I will win this conversation, so I'm choosing not to answer so you can't incriminate me. And to be fair, I was fourteen. And Aversa Grima has been ranked the number one most beautiful woman in the world for seven consecutive years," said Chrom. "Babe."

"Don't 'babe' me," said Robin.

"Why don't we eat breakfast before it gets too cold? I'll drop you off on the way to work," said Chrom.

Robin wasn't actually upset about all of this at all. She was quite used to people, especially men, fangirling over her sister. Hell, Aversa was fucking beautiful. It was just so much fun to watch Chrom be the flustered one, especially since he always had an upper hand in that in their relationship. Chrom pretended that everything was fine, but he'd occasionally glance over in guilt at her as he ate.

Robin's laugh broke the imaginary tension. "Chrom, relax, I'm just giving you a hard time."

"Oh thank Naga, I thought I was in hot water for a moment there," said Chrom.

"You don't think this was the first time I've heard this?" asked Robin.

"I just want to let you know I still like you more," said Chrom.

"Is that so?" asked Robin.

"Yeah, because you're real and you're here," said Chrom with a wide grin.

"Nice save, officer," said Robin.

"Robin?"

"What this time? Do you want me to get you an autograph? She's really nice to her fans, I'm sure she can mail something over. Or do you want me to make a phone call so you can say hi?"

"Isn't Aversa Grima the daughter of the Plegian president?" asked Chrom.

Robin's mouth opened but nothing came out. The fork and knife in her hands were placed down on the table. Not many people made that connection that fast, unless they looked Aversa up on the Internet.

"Holy shit. You're the second daughter of the Plegian president," uttered Chrom. "Oh, Naga. I just slept with the second presidential daughter of Plegia. Since when did Validar Grima have a second daughter? That's why you said Grima was a common name. Of course, it's a common name! It's a common household name! How many know about this?"

"How…?"

"I just slept with his little girl."

"Chrom, I'm not a child—"

"I'm actually kinda nervous right now. And not in a good way. Like the 'I am in deep shit' way."

"Chrom—"

"Wouldn't you be scared if you were in my shoes?" Chrom asked her in a hushed voice, like he was worried someone was listening in. "If I was the president, I'd fucking kill whoever slept with my daughter. She wouldn't be allowed to hold any boys' hands until she was at least sixty-five!"

"Chrom, please—"

"Why aren't you surrounded by bodyguards?"

Robin shrank into her seat. It felt like he was trampling on her defenses and peeling back layers of her. He was charging in and she didn't have any time to think up a plan.

"I didn't notice anyone following you around. Are you safe? No, that's a stupid question. Of course, you're safe. You're probably the safest being with me in Ylisse. Or are you? Does anyone else know you're here?"

Robin gave up trying to say anything. Her lips further tightened shut with every question flooding and overwhelming her one by one. She knitted her fingers into one another under the table. She sucked at lying. How was she going to get out of this? She hardly had the heart to lie to Chrom either. He usually didn't give her a reason to.

"Is that why you have to go back in a couple months? Is it more common knowledge in Plegia that you're the second daughter? Because it isn't in Ylisse."

"Chrom, please," Robin whispered, swallowing the lump forming in her throat.

Realization struck his face before he said one word. "Lon'qu."

"What?"

She hadn't imagined that Chrom would've picked stuff up this fast. It made her nerves jitter and she regretted ever answering the innocent question of whether she had siblings.

"He's not your gay housemate. Wait, no, he could be gay. Just not your housemate. He was your bodyguard," stated Chrom.

"He's more than a bodyguard," blurted out Robin. She squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced. Damn, she gave away too much again. Evidently, she had underestimated Chrom. She knew he was far from stupid, but she hadn't expected him to be this deductive. When things cooled down, she would have to challenge him to a game of chess or Fire Emblem to determine his strategic prowess.

"What is he then?" Chrom was fixating on Lon'qu now. "Because I know that you two were living together."

"Don't jump to conclusions, Chrom. He's not even in the same time zone as us at the moment. I consider him a friend. I've known him since I was nineteen. He's helped me through a lot and he's usually taking care of me whenever I forget to do it. If there was something between us, I wouldn't be here with you," said Robin.

For some reason, this silenced Chrom. Robin waited for him with a bated breath to return to grilling her with questions.

"Say something! Now that you're all quiet, it's making me anxious."

"Were…were you ever going to tell me any of this?"

She took a deep breath to school her disappointment. "Is this a deal breaker?"

"I just value honesty in a relationship is all."

Robin winced. "I am being honest with you. I haven't lied to you or tried to deceive you here, Chrom. These details are just really private and very few people know I exist. It's not a matter of honesty. If it were anyone else and not you, right now, my position would be compromised. I wouldn't be able to live a normal life. My father purposely kept it that way."

"Would you have told me any of this if you were given the opportunity though?"

"I don't know. I'm in a bit of a difficult position right now."

"What's so difficult?"

"I can't share that with you," said Robin quietly, dropping her gaze. She chewed on her bottom lip.

Chrom sighed. "You share so little with me."

They were both being selfish. Robin wanted to maintain her self-preservation, while Chrom bitterly grappled with the fact that he didn't know Robin as well as he wanted to.

"Chrom, this is me opening up a lot. I'm sorry you don't see it that way, but this is me opening a lot," said Robin. "All of this is new to me and it scares me, but I'm trying because you make me want to try. I'm constantly pushing myself out of my comfort zone when I'm with you."

"Robin, I'm sorry. I just got carried away—"

"No. You are not doing that again. Do not interrogate me like this again. I will share things with you on my own terms and time. I already deal with a fair amount of being questioned," said Robin. "I don't need it from you."

He reached across the table and offered an open hand, asking her to make up with him. "I'm sorry, baby. I get carried away when I start questioning people. I've definitely had my friends and family to tell me to stop 'copping' them before. I'm working on it. The whole separating personal and professional life."

Robin went back and forth between his open palm and his apologetic smile a couple times. She was preparing on building up her defenses against him, but here he was asking for forgiveness. The concept of someone backing down and apologizing to her was foreign. She placed a hand on the table and hesitantly inched it towards his. She slid her hand into his and he gave it a squeeze.

"I won't do it again."

"Okay. I'll try to share more."

Chrom relaxed and smiled. Robin gave him a small smile back.

"Will you make pancakes the next time I stay over?" asked Robin.

"Anything for you."

"Okay."

"But seriously, does the president know about us?"

"No. Let's keep it that way."

"Okay, yeah. I like that plan. At least until we have a new one."

* * *

Chrom always knew when his partner had gotten laid. He was never subtle about it. Never. In fact, he just told you. But at the moment, he wished Vaike would shut up so he could do his work.

"For a researcher, she had a hot fucking body, Chrom. You should've seen her," said Vaike.

No, he really didn't want to see Miriel's naked body, thank you very much. He had Robin.

"We had the kinkiest sex ever. She was a complete giver. We went for so many rounds I lost count of positions we did. Then she scribbled down some notes in her notepad in between every round and when we laid there. She kept going on about something to do with optimal angle about something and friction and…yeah, I fell asleep because I had no idea what she was going on about. But it was hot. Smart is the new hot, Chrom. Smart is the new hot."

"Mmhmm," hummed Chrom without looking up from the case files on his desk.

They still had to wait a little longer before the autopsy results came out. If it weren't for the fact that he had gotten chewed out so often for stressing out the forensics team, he would've gone down to bother them. Now that Vaike was sleeping with Miriel, he wondered if he could put in a favour and get the analysis a little faster.

"Dude, are you still listening?" asked Vaike, wheeling his chair near Chrom.

"Yeah, you just said you had the kinkiest sex of your life," said Chrom monotonously.

"You don't even sound impressed," said Vaike.

"Dude, I'm happy for you, but you've made me listen to every single damn sex adventure you've had since we were at the academy. This is like the thousandth—"

"I've had way more than that."

"—story you've told me," said Chrom. "We seriously need to figure out what happened yesterday. Underaged girls are missing, escorts are dead, and now drug dealers shot in their own house, but no one stole the drugs. Something is going on here."

"Okay, but this is different," said Vaike.

"How?" asked Chrom, getting up from his seat. He needed to see Cordelia. She was the best at profiling. "You coming? We need to get Cordelia to profile the victims and run some searches."

"We could do that ourselves," said Vaike.

"Cordelia's faster than us and she's better at finding patterns than us," said Chrom.

"Better question is what isn't she good at?" asked Vaike.

"Chases and driving maneuvers, according to her, but she's probably being modest," said Chrom. "Come on, let's go."

"Fine, fine. Anyway, going back to what I was saying. It's different because…shucks, I feel lame saying this," said Vaike, joining Chrom to go to the floor below them.

"What's up, man?" asked Chrom.

"I kinda want more than a good fuck this time," said Vaike.

"And you don't want to share," said Chrom.

"Exactly. I don't want to share Miriel with anyone else," said Vaike, stopping in his tracks on the stairs.

Chrom stopped as well, turned to his partner, and smiled. "Then, dude. Date her. What is that so hard?"

"Because she doesn't want that," said Vaike in a hushed voice. "I mentioned that I wanted more and she went on this rant, no, lecture. Miriel lectures, unlike normal girls. She went on this lecture about something. I don't know. I lost her after the third sentence, but it wasn't good."

"Oh, how the mighty Vaike has fallen," said Chrom, laughing and continued down the stairs.

"Bro! You're not helping!" Vaike groaned. He grabbed Chrom's arm. "Help me out here. Wanna switch situations?"

"No, not really. Robin and I have made some progress," said Chrom. "Though she's leaving in a couple months."

"On a trip?" asked Vaike.

"No. It's complicated," said Chrom, recalling their talk this morning. His mood suddenly turned sour. He wanted nothing more to watch her sleep, just like this morning. Or listen to her moan his name while they drowned in lust. If there was a clock ticking down on the time they spent together, shouldn't they be trying to spend what precious time was left? Could they handle a long-distance relationship? He could be open to it, but Robin didn't seem too keen on the idea last night. And he had kinda upset her this morning with their talk.

Vaike frowned and slapped a hand onto Chrom's shoulder. "Dude, save yourself the trouble and don't get too attached."

"I'll be fine," said Chrom.

"Doubt it," said Vaike. "You're a huge softy on the inside."

After squabbling a little longer, they arrived at the Cordelia's desk, who was surrounded by the usual computer screens.

"Have you guys banged yet?" asked Vaike.

Cordelia cocked her head to the side and stared at Chrom, curious for the answer for whatever they were talking about. Vaike somehow always had the best timing.

"Okay, enough. Vaike, stop," said Chrom.

"What? It's an innocent question!" said Vaike.

"It's hardly innocent," grumbled Chrom.

"Who are you guys talking about?" asked Cordelia.

"Chrom has a new girlfriend. And I was asking him if they've fucked yet," said Vaike. "He usually doesn't share."

"Oh," said Cordelia. "Was this that woman we saw last time we were all out?"

"That's the one," said Vaike.

"Cordelia, can you profile the victims in this report?" asked Chrom, handing the file to her. "We still haven't informed their next of kin about their deaths."

"Sure, but I have a huge pile of stuff I need to do. I'm not even behind and I have a huge stack of reports," said Cordelia. "I'll let you know when I get to it."

"What could I do for you to get this done within the next hour? You're a genius when it comes to profiling," remarked Chrom hopefully. He knew Cordelia hated doing favours in her line of work because it wasn't fair to everyone else, but sometimes she bent the rules for him.

She pretended to look upset, but then said, "Actually, now I'm curious to see who this person is. Let me do a background check on her and we'll call it even."

"She's Plegian. I highly doubt you'll find anything on her," said Chrom. "Aside from speeding tickets."

Robin had made it very clear this morning that her background was supposed to be kept on the down-low. The last thing he needed after upsetting her this morning was more people knowing who she actually was. He still felt bad about interrogating her. Maybe he should send some flowers.

"I have a contact in Plegia who can give me more information," said Cordelia.

"How?" asked Vaike.

"With all the vice cases coming into the Special Tactics and Investigation Division, sometimes we collab with the Plegia law enforcers to see if key players from Plegia are in Ylisse," said Cordelia.

"No," said Chrom. "It's unethical."

"Dude, it's your girlfriend," said Vaike. "What if she's a crazy serial murderer and you don't know about it?"

"Vaike, she's a surgeon. Why would she be in medicine to murder people?" snapped Chrom.

"It's a great cover if you think about it," said Cordelia. "She has the ability to effectively kill people and make it look like an accident."

"Guys, this a severe invasion of her privacy," said Chrom.

"Well, how well do you know her?" asked Cordelia.

"Well enough," said Chrom.

"When's her birthday?" asked Vaike.

"Some time in the year," said Chrom. "Do you know Miriel's birthday?"

"Pfft, yeah. I did a background search on her ages ago," said Vaike, like there was nothing wrong with it. "It's February 12th, two days before Valentine's day. And she has like three PhDs. Have I mentioned she's a genius, bruh?"

"What do you know about her?" asked Cordelia.

"She likes my pancakes," said Chrom. "Hah. See I know something."

"They've totally banged," said Vaike.

"Yeah," agreed Cordelia quietly.

"Cordelia, go for it. I want to make sure my homeboy ain't banging a child molester and rapist. For all we know, she might be the one responsible for all these gang-related crimes," said Vaike.

"Hey! Stop making Robin look like a crazy person!" There was no way in hell that he was going to allow them to find out she was a presidential daughter for the gods' sakes.

"You do have a good point, Vaike," said Cordelia.

"Cordelia, don't," warned Chrom. "I swear, I will tell Chief that you do background searches on all the guys you go on dates on. And that you do this for all the women in our department."

Cordelia's fingers froze. Slowly, she turned her head with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, I know about that."

"That's low, even for you Chrom. Fine. But to be fair, everyone does it. Civilians use social media and networking websites to find out more about their potential partners. I just happen to have more resources on hand. It's for our safety."

"Can you do this for me? Please?" asked Chrom, one more time, offering his file.

Cordelia sighed. "Only for you." She took the file. "Why is it so hard to win against you?"

* * *

Priam reached for his cigarettes and lighter on the coffee table but stopped midair when he heard the door sing a chime before the gears of the lock turn. He didn't bother looking over his shoulder. He knew it was Robin slinking back home after spending it at Chrom's. Priam listened to each of Robin's shoes drop to the floor and Gold Digger jumped off the couch to greet her with happy yaps.

"Walk of shame, huh?" asked Priam, grabbing the remote and turning down the volume.

Cutting his expectations short, Robin didn't bicker with him. He had hit the nail on the head.

"How was he?" asked Priam. "Was he to your satisfaction?"

Gold Digger's nails clicked against the floor as he circled around Robin as she walked over to Priam. She sighed. "He knows."

Priam uncrossed his legs and frowned. "He knows what?"

She sat down beside Priam and patted the other side of her. "Up, boy." Robin glared at the pack of cigarettes and then at Priam. He pretended not to notice.

Gold Digger tried to jump up but his hind legs scrambled against the edge of the couch. Robin grabbed his butt and pulled him up.

"What does he know?" asked Priam.

"Well, we were just talking about siblings and he made the connection that Aversa was related to me," said Robin.

"Then, he made the connection you were related to the Plegian president," Priam stated the obvious. "Not bad for a pig."

"Then, he interrogated me and I honestly felt so attacked," murmured Robin, slouching into the couch.

Priam turned to study Robin. She looked like she had a lot on her mind. Her lips were pulled into a small pout and her eyes downcast. She folded her legs into her chest and hugged them. It reminded him of when she was younger and upset. It was almost like the brat had reverted back to her child-self.

She probably wasn't used to being put on the spot like that. All her life, she was told to live in the shadows, behind the scenes, and to remain invisible. And now that spotlight was shining on her, she didn't know how to handle anything. But to his surprise, she was doing well considering all things.

"Asshole," muttered Priam.

"Yeah," said Robin.

"You sure you want to do this?" asked Priam. "If you want a man, I can get you one. I know tons of lawyer noobs around your age in Plegia."

"I don't want a manwhore like you," said Robin.

"Actually, I know a couple guys you could even call 'sweet'," said Priam. "Excellent son-in-law-to-the-president-of-Plegia material." He gave her a thumbs up.

"I feel like I'm in too deep to walk out," said Robin. "Are you upset with me? Now that he found out?"

"Hardly," said Priam. "Validad wants you to be publicly outed when you return anyway. It's not a big deal. I think he wants to set up a good cover before you really get your feet wet in Plegia. Something about hospital policies."

"I'm not qualified," said Robin.

"Brat, no one is qualified for a lot of the government jobs in Plegia," said Priam. "You're probably more qualified than all of them combined."

"I don't want it," said Robin.

"You know what I think it is?" said Priam.

"What?"

"I think you don't like that your invisibility is starting to wear off. You never liked being the center of attention even growing up. Whether you like it or not, you're going to have to deal with it," said Priam. "And don't get too attached to this guy." Priam shoved Robin, causing her to flop over to her side. "Stop moping."

She didn't even glare at him.

"You obviously underestimated him," said Priam.

Robin sighed. "Yeah."

"He won't tell anyone. He likes you too much."

"How do you know that?"

"Have you looked at yourself? What kind of sane man would stay with your sorry ass if he wasn't crazy about you?"

"Fuck off. Lon'qu doesn't mind me."

"He's paid to tolerate you."

"We don't actually know that."

"Brat. I told you to stay away from him. He's a tool meant to be used. Don't get attached to your playing pieces, idiot. You lose the game that way. You don't shit where you eat."

"You're really fucking mean, Priam. I don't want to talk about this anymore. What did you find out last night? About the snitch? I need to start preparing for the next moves." Robin picked up her head and narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "You didn't kill him…did you?"

"Not yet," said Priam. "Your father doesn't tolerate traitors. Especially snitches. If it were the Falchion era, he would've left their corpses rot on spikes outside his territory."

Robin sat up and looked at Priam. "No, don't kill him. I'm not my father. We're doing this my way."

"Are we now, brat?" asked Priam. He smirked. Cute. She was trying.

"What information did you get from him?" asked Robin.

"He's with the Triad."

"Wow, Priam. I could have told you that much You must feel so smart right now."

"He's been feeding them information about our movements. He knew the delivery routes of our oasys shipments," said Priam.

"What exactly does oasys do?" asked Robin.

"It takes you back to a happier time," said Priam.

"You sound like you've done it before." He had tried it once. Or perhaps a couple times after he had heard Amelie was murdered. But the addictiveness of the oasys scared him, so he swore off of it. "Do I look like a fucking idiot to you? Never use the shit you sell."

"How did the snitch find out?" asked Robin. "He must've been in touch with the managerial level. He's probably not the only one who's in on this."

"Duh," said Priam. "Please don't tell me you're going to let him off with a warning, brat. That'll be pathetic."

"Where is he?" asked Robin.

"Somewhere guarded. He won't be escaping," said Priam.

"Is he alive?"

"I already told you, yes."

"I mean, does he have all his limbs? Is he sane?"

"Yeah. We didn't even have to hurt a hair on him. This guy had no balls. He spilled everything while bawling his eyes out. I think he even wet himself at one point."

"Okay. Keep him alive. And give him some motivation to do our bidding."

Priam didn't think Robin understood that this wasn't going to be puppies and rainbows. The snitch had to be silenced at some point. "You know we will have to get rid of him after."

"We'll cross the bridge when we get there," said Robin. "What does he want? Money?"

"I wasn't there for the interrogation. That's below me, but from what I've heard, the Triad has been paying him a pretty penny for everything he's done so far," said Priam.

"You know what works better than money, Priam?"

"What?"

"Fear."

A frown twitched on Priam's face but it disappeared as quickly it had appeared: she wasn't a child anymore. He knew exactly what she was telling him to make happen.

"I don't care how you do it. We need to use him for a bit," said Robin. "What's his name?"

"You don't need to know his name. It's better to dissociate yourself from them," said Priam.

"Okay."

He watched the gears turn in Robin's head as she formulated their next steps. Everything had gone according to plan so far—she managed to sniff out the snitch when no one else had even considered hunting one down.

"Let him continue doing whatever he was doing. Track down all the triad locations and map them."

"And then what? Hit them and start a war? You sure about this?"

"That is an option, but it's inefficient. And we'd lose too many people," said Robin. "We lead the police to them instead. Let them take them down. Let the police take the credit. The Chon'sin Triad won't even know it was us. But we still need to make sure they don't investigate or track everything back to Amelie's Bakery, so change the delivery trucks. Start switching some of the vans to freelancers. That'll be easier to distract the police."

"What if things don't go according to plan?" asked Priam. "And what if the Triad figures out it's us?"

"I'm working on a plan for that, but I need more information about the Triad." Robin yawned. "I need to sleep."

"Did he keep you up all night?" snorted Priam.

"Who? The snitch?"

"No. Chrome. Or Crum, or whatever his name is."

"No, I didn't go back to sleep for a while after your phone call," grumbled Robin. "I needed to make sure we were on track."

"Go sleep."

Robin peeled herself off of the couch. "I don't care how you get the snitch to comply. But pinpoint the Triad drug houses and other locations for me. I'm going to bed."

"Don't boss me around, brat."

"Last time I checked, I'm technically your boss now. And make sure they're discreet this time. If I hear that there is another problem and it is publicly shared again, I won't be happy."

* * *

"Dude, you know it's bad when I say that you fucked up," said Vaike from the driver's seat in the police car. "You even do that to your friends."

"I didn't mean to! It just happened," said Chrom.

"So, you interrogated her like you would a interrogate a criminal, did ya?" said Vaike. "What exactly did she say that set you off like a trigger?"

"I can't share that with you," said Chrom. "But she shared a lot of heavy stuff with me last night and this morning."

"Sounds like she has a lot of baggage," said Vaike.

"I wouldn't call it that. None of it is her fault," said Chrom.

"Still counts as baggage even if isn't her fault," said Vaike.

"She was reluctant to kiss me goodbye this morning too," said Chrom, sinking further into his seat. He watched the cars around him: people always drove more safely whenever they were in a police car. "I don't want to do this."

"What? Facing your angry girlfriend? Or informing the victims' next of kin about their deaths?"

"Both."

"Get her some flowers. Make it up to her. Iunno, eat her out," said Vaike. "As for the victims…I'll lead the first one."

Chrom never enjoyed this part of the job. The part where he had to talk to the victims' families and tell them so-and-so wasn't coming home. It always pulled at his heartstrings and reminded him of the night that Emm sat Lissa and him down to explain that their parents weren't coming home.

Today, they had to deal with a mother, a sister, and an uncle. All three of them didn't seem overly shocked that their respective victim wasn't coming home, but nevertheless, they were visibly upset. All of them were aware that the victims were involved in gang activity but hoped that this wouldn't have been the end.

It always numbed, yet angered Chrom that people would turn to such criminal activities. Why couldn't they have tried to earn money through legal means? What was wrong with working a crappy job that earned you honest money? Why cause so much pain for people around you? Why was it so hard to say no?

"Bro, you alright there? I know this kinda hits close to home," said Vaike, hopping into the driver's set of the police car after their last visit. "It's too bad they didn't know more."

"It's not surprising," said Chrom, getting into the car. "We'll have to go over the case after more details come in. But I feel like this might just be tucked away as a gang-related fight."

"Probably," said Vaike, starting the engine.

"Oasys is involved though. It has to be part of the bigger thing. There was way too much oasys for it to be just a gang-related fight," said Chrom. "The oasys worth tens of thousands of dollars in the victims' home wasn't even taken. Why would they leave that behind?"

"We'll have to wait," said Vaike. "Anyway, let's get you to the flower shop and call it a day. I'll get the paperwork in. I can tell you're really into her. Go fix your problems with your boo. You totally went cop all over her ass. The only thing you should take into your relationship that comes from your job is handcuffs."

"Just drive."

* * *

When Priam opened the door to the unexpected door bell, he smirked at the person standing outside. He leaned against the door, blocking he entrance. A blue-haired cop, still in uniform, stood in front of him with a giant bouquet of flowers. Gold Digger scrambled to behind Priam and barked.

"Hey," said Priam.

"You're Priam, right? Hey, Gold Digger."

Priam gestured with his chin towards the flowers. "Are those 'I fucked up' flowers for Robin?" Gold Digger continued to yap. "Gold Digger, quiet. Sit." The pug growled but did as he was told.

Chrom didn't answer at first. He sighed and quietly confirmed. "I'm guessing she told you?"

"Oi. I've known the brat since she was six. If you hurt her, I'll fucking kill you myself," said Priam. "You may be a cop, but I'm a lawyer. I can bet you a million gils I would figure out a way to get away with it."

Chrom narrowed his eyes at Priam.

Priam burst out into a hearty laugh. "Relax. I'm kidding. Why would I dirty my own hands?" He opened the door wide open. "Come on in. The brat's taking a nap."

The officer stepped into the house and closed the door behind him.

"I don't know if the uniform works with the others girls, but don't show up with the uniform next time," said Priam, walking away. "And shoes off. Don't want to make the brat do more work. She fired the cleaning lady I hired after she found us fucking on the kitchen counter."

"Right," said Chrom.

Priam plopped down onto the couch. He whistled and Gold Digger came to him. "She's in the room to your left," said Priam, unmuting the television.

"Thanks."

The wrapping of the flowers crinkled in his hand when he knocked on Robin's door.

"Just go in," said Priam. "Robin hates having her privacy respected."

"I can't tell if you're screwing with me or not," said Chrom.

"Always assume I am," said Priam.

Chrom turned the door knob and entered the room. He had never been in Robin's apartment, but he could tell that she came from a privileged background. There was a lump underneath the white covers on the bed against the far wall. Even with the curtains drawn and little light, the room was so spacious that the vanity, desk and chair, and shelves of books still didn't fill up the room enough.

He softly tiptoed his way over to Robin who was buried under her blanket. He set the flowers down on her bedside table, wincing at the crinkling sounds. He double-checked to see that Robin hadn't stirred. Chrom worried whether she hadn't slept well at his place because she was uncomfortable or this morning drained her that much. He sat down beside her and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

"Robin," he whispered in her ear. "Do you want to get dinner?"

Robin stirred and then her eyes snapped open to only be filled with a brief moment of fear. "I don't know anything!"

"It's me," said Chrom.

She sat up on the bed, blinking away the sleep in her eyes and slowly widened at the sight of her. "C-Chrom?" She scanned his attired and further frowned.

"Nightmare?" asked Chrom.

"What?"

"You said you didn't know anything. I assumed that you were having a nightmare."

"Umm, yeah, sure. I don't remember. Wait, what are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"Priam let me in," said Chrom.

"He let you," said Robin. Then she rubbed her eyes. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Aside for the fact that he said he'd kill me if I hurt you and that you fired the cleaning lady because you found them having sex on your kitchen counter, no?" said Chrom.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "Just ignore him. How was your day?"

"Fine," said Chrom. "Okay, not fine. Just one of those days, y'know?"

Robin nodded sympathetically.

"Are you still upset about this morning?" asked Chrom.

"This morning? No," said Robin.

"Thank goodness, I thought you were still angry about it," said Chrom. "I brought you flowers." He reached over to the bouquet and handed them to Robin.

"Thank you," said Robin, accepting them. She leaned in and he met her halfway to kiss her. She slid a hand behind his neck and rested her forehead against his. "But I get why you'd freak out. I'm probably worth more trouble than you're asking for, Chrom."

"Don't do that." Chrom cupped her face and made her look at him. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"That thing you do where you think you know what's best for me. I know what's best for me. And right now, you're the best thing that has happened to me in my life in a long time. So don't devalue yourself like that and try to persuade me otherwise. Because I'm not letting go," said Chrom. "I won't lie, I was a little intimidated this morning, but I see you as you. Or at least I did and I'm trying to."

Robin silenced him by pressing her mouth against his. He kissed her back, and accidentally crushing the flowers in between them.

She smiled and whispered, "You're crushing my apology bouquet."

"I'll get you another one," said Chrom, pulling her closer.

"We need to add ground rules for all of this," said Robin, in between their kisses.

"Like what?" asked Chrom.

"No more speeches that gives me the fuzzies," said Robin.

"Why not?"

"Because you're making me get too attached," said Robin. "And I'm supposed to be angry at you right now."

"Okay, then, you need to practice an uglier smile," said Chrom. "Because every time I see your smile, you make me forget everything."

"Okay, well, you need to stop working out," said Robin.

"It's a part of my job to be fit—"

"Well, that's too bad. I can't think straight when you walk around without a shirt on. You'll just have to roll down the sidewalk to catch criminals now."

Chrom pulled back and shot her a joking suspicious look. He was terrible at hiding his grin. "I guess we'll just have to be forgetful and thoughtless around each other."

Robin rolled her eyes. "Gods, we're being so cheesy."

"I don't mind."

"I used to make fun of couples that pulled this shit with Phila. And here I am being hypocritical."

"Being cheesy with someone you like is that best. I'm going to turn on the light." Chrom left Robin and searched for the light.

"It's near the door," said Robin.

Chrom felt his way around turned the switch on. "You should invite me over more often. You have a really nice place."

"I don't live by myself. Pancakes would be hard."

"Is that our code word for it now? Pancakes? I think it's sweet. No one will know what we're talking about."

"Doubt it. Snuggle bunny, subtle isn't the world I would use to describe us."

He walked around the perimeter of the room and studied all the little details. He stopped at the vanity and saw that she had no particular way she organized her makeup and skincare products. Emm and Lissa were very particular about how they organized their's but Robin didn't seem to care. The perfume bottle caught his eye and he picked it up. It was vanilla and desert tyrs. The vanilla he recognized, but he had no idea what desert tyrs were.

"What are desert tyrs?" asked Chrom. He sniffed the perfume bottle and he smiled the moment he recognized that it smelled like Robin.

"They're a flower that only grows in the Plegian desert. They're also called Plegian tyrs. They start purple but turn crimson later in the year," said Robin. "I'm going to put some pants on. No peeking."

Chrom watched Robin's reflection throw the covers off climb out of bed in the mirror of the vanity. He averted his eyes when she stood up and stretched, revealing that she was only wearing her t-shirt and panties.

He put the perfume bottle down and continued his way to the packed bookshelves. All her books were organized into (medical) textbooks, non-fiction, and fiction in alphabetical order by title. Robin evidently cared more about her books than her appearances.

"You must like reading a lot," said Chrom.

"Yeah," said Robin, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "I haven't been reading much lately though. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah," said Chrom. "What do you want for dinner?"

"I dunno," said Robin. "I'll get changed."

"Can I watch?" joked Chrom.

"Oh my gods, Chrom, stop that," said Robin, leaving his side and making her way to the other side of the room. Chrom followed behind her.

When she opened the doors to her walk-in closet, he said, "Do you know how many of my female friends and colleagues would kill for this?"

"Yeah, I'm spoiled," said Robin, walking deep into the closet. But Chrom lingered near the entrance.

"So, will I get to see you wearing these?" asked Chrom.

Robin glanced over her shoulder and blushed furiously when she saw Chrom holding up a beautiful blue bra with lace trimming and embroidery.

"I'm setting another ground rule! No more teasing me!" said Robin, shoving him out of the closet. She slammed the doors behind him, leaving him at the entrance of the closet holding her bra delicately by the shoulder straps. She opened the door again, snatched the bra from him and closed it again.

Chrom laughed at how adorable she was and cleared his throat when his imagination started to wander and he could see Robin in lingerie. He wanted unwrap her like a gift.

"Since I'm not allowed to tease you, I'm going to make an observation here. I observed that you weren't kidding when you said you like nice underwear last night. I mean, I'm not complaining. But I hope you'll show me everything. So I think we're going to have to have pancakes a lot."

Robin came out of closet, clothed. She wore a shirt that was purposely designed with sheer material and underneath was the blue bra he had teased her about earlier ago. Along with that shirt and a simple pair of black pants, she wore a sly smile. "I'm sorry. I missed everything you said," said Robin. "Let's go eat."

Chrom caught her arm before she got away too far from him. "Babe, at least put on a sweater. I don't want other men staring at you."

"Isn't this what you wanted though?" asked Robin innocently, slipping away from him. "Because I'm pretty sure this is what you wanted. Also, we should drop by your place so you can change into something more comfortable."

* * *

After wasting an hour and a half spent at Chrom's apartment and trying to decide what to eat, they ended up deciding on sushi. Their tendency for bad timing continued and they ended up coming during dinner rush at the sushi restaurant. The loud buzz of dinner conversations and orders blanketed their conversation.

"How are you so good at that?" asked Chrom.

"What?" Robin asked, popping the piece of sushi into her mouth.

"Chopsticks," said Chrom.

"Lon'qu taught me how to use them properly," said Robin.

"What's he like?" asked Chrom.

"Umm…" Robin thought about the question for a moment. "Quiet, but caring in his own weird way. In his odd, disapproving way."

"I see."

"Yeah. So the news still seems to be nervous about the gang shooting you're dealing with."

"The Chief had to make a statement on it. Why do you think that people would rather risk their livelihood and go into crime?" asked Chrom.

Robin put down her chopsticks and took a sip of her water. She knew that Chrom was dealing with a lot of the cases related to the syndicate and triad's activities at the moment. There were moments when she saw the stress eating away at him.

"I think sometimes people feel like they don't have a choice," said Robin. "If they grew up in an environment or neighbourhood where selling and doing drugs was the norm, it's hard not to get dragged into it."

"But they always have a choice. They can say no. They can get a real job that pays honest money," said Chrom.

Robin couldn't tell if he honestly believed that those were easy options for underprivileged people or that Chrom wasn't checking his own privilege. It could've been both. She was glad they ordered sake. She needed it to get through this upcoming conversation.

"Snuggle bunny, I mean this in the least offensive way, but I don't think someone from your background will ever quite know what it feels like to be forced into a position where the only choices are a bad one and worst one," said Robin. "And working on minimum wage is not enough to support a family. I know that it's not possible in Plegia nor Ylisse."

"I dunno. Just say no to drugs!" exclaimed Chrom.

"Is that what they teach you in high school? Just say no?" asked Robin, unamused. "Is that what you tell the kids in school when you go into do a special talk with them?"

"Well, yeah. But I obviously talk about more than just that," said Chrom. "I talk about the repercussions of getting involved."

"Right. And do you give them other options to channel their teenaged angst?" asked Robin.

"They could join school clubs," said Chrom.

"Not all schools have good programs though. They don't have that kind of funding," said Robin. "What I'm trying to say is that this is more complicated than just deciding to say 'no'. You just need to do your part, which is keeping the streets safe, cracking down on the kingpins, and I dunno, giving tickets to people for jaywalking."

"Ha ha," said Chrom.

"You could harass your local politicians and school boards to fund more youth programs?" suggested Robin.

"Why aren't you bothered by this at all?" asked Chrom. "Doesn't it upset you?"

Robin sighed. Of course all of it was upsetting, but like her father said, there would always be crime. "Why would you say that? It does upset me, Chrom. But Chrom, I can't fix every wrong in this world. And you wouldn't have a job if the world had no crime."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I wouldn't have a job if the world was perfect. And my sisters and I would've probably had our parents. I probably would've been a lawyer right now, preparing to take over my dad's law firm."

"I'm sorry," said Robin quickly. "I didn't mean it like that."

"No, don't be," said Chrom. "I can't change the past. And I thought I'd just add that I was right. The guy two tables to left has been checking you out all dinner. Should I go scare him off?"

"Really, Chrom?"

"What?"

"You make it impossible for me to follow your thoughts and conversations," commented Robin.

"You know what's also distracting?" asked Chrom. "Your shirt."

"If you want pancakes, just say so."

* * *

For someone who had no talent when it came to playing guitar, Chrom was pretty good with his fingers. He had managed unbutton a fair amount of her shirt in a very short amount of time. Or perhaps that was just arousal.

He slipped the sheer fabric of her shirt off her shoulders and tasted her soft skin. Robin leaned her head in the opposite direction, providing him with more access. Her shirt further slid down her arms and revealed the blue bra Chrom picked up in her closet.

Robin shifted in Chrom's lap. She really wasn't feeling it today. "Hey, Chrom?"

"Mmm?"

"Can we stop?"

Chrom paused and looked up at her. "Something wrong?"

"No, I just don't feel like it anymore," said Robin quietly.

"Okay," said Chrom. Slowly, he pulled Robin's shirt back onto her. "That's okay."

"Really?" asked Robin.

"Yeah." He re-buttoned her shirt and exhaled. "But if you change your mind, let me know."

She laughed. "Don't worry, I'll let you know."

It was awkward straddling his lap now that they weren't going to do anything. A silence filled the empty space between their bodies. She bit her lip.

"My grandfather raised me," said Robin.

"Hmm?" asked Chrom.

"You wanted me to share more about myself," said Robin. "I'm…sharing."

"Is this about this morning? I still feel really awful making you feel that uncomfortable, babe," said Chrom.

"I know," said Robin. "Is there anything you want to know?"

"Oh, we're actually doing this. Right now. Okay. When's your birthday?" asked Chrom.

"October tenth," said Robin.

"Favorite colour?"

"You know that purple you see right after the sun sets? That purple. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you like blue."

"You guessed it."

"Chrom, I don't understand why you were so upset this morning if this is what you wanted to know about me," grumbled Robin.

He smiled and rested his hands on each of her thighs. "I'm just warming up."

"Is that so?"

"Yup. Next question. What makes you happy?"

Robin stared at him before looking away again.

"What?"

"Reading, eating a good meal, a good conversation. Iunno the small things. You."

"I wasn't expecting that."

"Sure."

"No, really."

"How about you?"

"Aside from you making me happy, my sisters and friends, I'd have to say being able to help people and solving cases."

"What else do you want to know?"

"Is Lon'qu actually gay and did you ever have something with him?"

Robin's brows furrowed.

"I have a feeling there was more."

"Do you now?"

"An officer's intuition."

"I don't know what Lon'qu is into honestly. He could be gay for all I know. He could be straight or bisexual or maybe he's pan or maybe he's into no one. I never asked him and he's never shared it with me. We never had a thing. Do I have a soft spot for him? Yes, but we never had a thing between us. That would've been unprofessional. How about you and your ex? Why'd you two break up?"

Chrom chuckled. "Actually, she dumped me a long time ago because I was being a pretty shitty boyfriend and an overall shitty person. It was around when my parents were killed and I decided to go into police work rather than law. I ended up hyperfocusing and neglecting everyone and everything around me. And I think after a while, it was too much for her so she broke it off."

"I don't think that's being shitty. You just needed some time to yourself and you found something to distract you from the pain for a time being."

"Maybe."

"Is that normal?"

"Is what normal?"

"You withdrawing from everyone when you're hyperfocusing on things."

"I don't always. Usually I have the support of my team and friends and my sisters to keep me on track."

"That must be nice."

"And now I have you. You've actually been a great motivator for me to get off on work on time and to balance work and life."

"Oh…that's nice?"

"Has anyone told you that you're really bad at taking compliments?" asked Chrom.

It was mostly that she wasn't used to positive feedback nor compliments. Most of her interactions with people in her life told her that she couldn't do something or she shouldn't do something or what she was doing wasn't enough. It was never enough.

"I'll work on it," murmured Robin.

"Is there anywhere you want to go before you leave for Plegia?"

"I didn't really think about it."

"Really? I assumed you quit your job at the hospital a couple months in advance so you could do some travelling or something," said Chrom.

"You know what's funny? The fact that that's what I told the head of surgery when I resigned and I don't have plans," said Robin.

"That won't do," said Chrom. "We should go on a trip. There's a little town called Salene that's absolutely beautiful."

"I'm not camping. Sorry. Nope. Not camping. I'm terrified of bugs." Chrom laughed as Robin shook her head vigorously. "Don't laugh! I'm serious! I freak out."

"My family owns a cottage there. Right beside the lake," said Chrom. "We'll be indoors. With running water and electricity. I promise."

"No bugs?"

"I can't promise anything, but I'll catch whatever is threatening your life."

"You're making fun of me."

He wore the widest grin ever. "Not at all. So how about it? Once it gets warmer? We can even go fishing."

"Wow. Fishing. Now we have to go," said Robin flatly.

"Hey! Fishing is fun," Chrom defended. "And the night sky is the best in Salene in all of Ylisse."

Robin perked up at this. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. My great-great-great-grandparents even had an observatory built. Gods know why. I think teens these days would call it 'extra'?"

"Let's go. I'm down. You had me at night sky. This better not be some shack with a pretend dome on it or I'm going to refuse to have pancakes with you the entire trip and curse your ancestors."

"If that's your lowest standard for the place, then I think we'll be having a lot of pancakes when we're actually there."

Heat warmed her cheeks and she moved off of Chrom's lap and sat down beside him. "Awwe, come on. I'm teasing. We won't do anything that you don't want to do. Except for fishing. I will drag you out to fish."

"You know what I just noticed?"

"Mmm?" He wrapped an arm around her and she snuggled in against him. Their hands found each other and their fingers fitted in the spaces made for the other's hand.

"That you have yet to make a pun with your name in the context of coming. Like you could say 'I'm about to Chrom' or 'I'm going to make you Chrom'."

"That sounds borderline narcissistic."

Robin looked at him with a serious face that contradicted the nature of this conversation. "No, but really. Because you won't stop with the damn puns, I guess my brain came up with one."

"I can't tell if I'm turned on by this or confused by the dirty things coming out of you right now."

"Would you like me to make you Chrom?"

"Okay. No. Don't do that. It's weird. I don't like it."

She smiled smugly with a hint of triumph. "This is what it's like to listen to your horrible puns, Chrom."

He leaned in and kissed her on the temple. Robin had expected him to return to his previous position, but he lingered, his hot breath against her ear. He whispered, "I could make you th-Robin for me to make you Chrom."

It was probably from all the times she had grabbed the nearest thing and smacked Priam with, but that reflex came out of nowhere. Her hand grabbed the cushion beside her and she whacked Chrom with it. He didn't even have the time to defend himself before the cushion collided with his face.

"No!" Robin yelled, like she was yelling at Gold Digger for chewing on one of her shoes. "We are not going to be the loser couple that makes stupid puns with our name! I don't even know if I can have sex with you again after that line. You are walking on eggshells today, mister."

"I know this is bad timing, but you're kinda cute when you're upset."

"Chrom, do you want to die tonight?"

* * *

They were into the third episode of the new show they had spent close to an hour deciding on. Robin was curled up against Chrom and he rested his head against hers.

As the credits rolled, Chrom asked, "Do you know someone named Miriel by any chance?"

"Does she talk like an advanced thesaurus AI?" asked Robin, snuggling in closer.

"Umm, yeah. Wait, you do know her?"

"Yeah, through school. She's one of my friends. What about her?"

"Small world. My friend is really into her."

"Okay. And?"

"She's not being really responsive to his advances. Not the sexual ones, I mean the serious ones."

"I'm not touching this with a twenty foot pole. She's probably going through one of her phases."

"Phases?"

"Yeah, when she's bored she likes to study modern day relationships. Last time she collaborated with that online dating site, Soulmates, and analyzed the data for them. But she mostly looks at sex and the female orgasm."

"I see."

"But who knows, maybe he'll be interesting enough for her to stick around longer than a couple weeks."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks to my older readers for sticking around and thank for you to my new readers for joining my hell of a long fanfic.

Also, I wish I could respond to my guest reviewers...but I can't on fanfiction. Thank you to all of you. I usually respond to people who leave reviews, but since I can't, I just want to say thank you. The little blurbs you leave behind give me fuzzies (and I'm not going to lie, but it also feeds the validation for me the keep writing...yes, I am human, I need validation).


	32. Two Dimensions

**A/N:** I feel like I'm going to be writing forever...

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Two Dimensions**

In the short time they had started to sleep together, Chrom had developed the habit of kissing Robin awake. Usually, she had too much sleep inertia holding her cognitive abilities hostage to decide whether it was irritating or arousing. This morning was no exception. His lips tickled her neck and she stirred in her sleep.

"Chrom," moaned Robin. "Let me sleep."

"We should get up," he whispered in her ear.

"Maybe if you'd let me sleep at night, I wouldn't need to sleep in so much," grumbled Robin without opening her eyes. "Chrom."

"Hmm?"

"Your hand is wandering," accused Robin. She squirmed as his hand slipped under her shirt and traveled up her navel and traced the curves of her breasts. "Chrom, I fucking dare you. And I'll make sure you're late for work for the third time this week."

"I was almost late twice this week. But never actually late." Robin heard his grin in his words.

"Is that a challenge?" asked Robin. She sighed. Damn him. Now, she wanted him too.

"Maybe. Sorry to break it to you, but it's Saturday. Or maybe that's a good thing."

"This is what happens when you don't have a job. You lose track of time," she grumbled. Finally, she opened her eyes and rolled onto her elbows to playfully glare at him. "Don't you think I'm over for pancakes too often?"

Chrom joined her and propped himself up on his elbows too. "Well, I don't think we really had pancakes. Unless you're counting the times we figured out that grabbing your wrists is a huge no—"

Robin bit her lip, recalling how earlier that week they established that grabbing her wrist was a trigger. They spent the rest of that night Robin sniffling and Chrom comforting her while stuffing their faces with pizza with a movie neither of them were watching playing in the background.

"—and the time I tried to go down on you but you nearly crushed my head in between your legs—"

"Okay, please stop. I'm sorry I said anything. And I apologized for that!" said Robin.

"—and the time you tried to go down on me but teeth—"

Robin buried her face into the pillows and the words 'I hate you' came out too muffled for anyone to understand.

"—and last night, well…"

This time Robin finished his sentence for him. "You fell off the bed and broke the lamp."

"Yeah."

"You know, now that you mention it, we suck at this," said Robin. "Maybe this is the world telling us that we should choose abstinence."

Chrom leaned in for a kiss and Robin met him halfway. "I don't mind practicing until we get it right. And I'm having fun, aren't you?"

"I get the feeling next time, you're going to break me."

"Nah, I think you're too tough to be broken by me."

"Oh gods, you're such a sap."

"Yeah, but I'm your sap now, so you have to put up with me."

"How much time do we have?"

"All the time in the world," said Chrom, his smile growing wider. They both shuffled about under the blanket taking their underwear off and sat side by side. "Do you want to try being on top?"

"Umm, sure."

Sex was still an awkward for Robin, but they both explored the relationship together and that was comforting even if it was novel. It got a little easier each time. While Robin still had moments of hesitation, she didn't feel like she had missed out on all those years. A part of her was glad she had waited.

Chrom took her hand and helped her climb onto his lap. He was giving her that look again. It would've made more sense to her if he gave her a face that fit the context—they were about to do the fuck after all. But often, affection trumped the excitement and lust in his eyes. Chrom looked and touched her like she was the only thing that mattered. The intensity of it all made her always look away. She liked him, but she was starting to get the feeling that he liked her a lot more than she did.

"Your skin is so soft," he said, running his up and down her thigh.

"I can share my lotion with you. We can be silky smooth together," said Robin. "And also, I'll probably be prickly tomorrow. Like a cactus. So enjoy it while you can. You have no idea how much I have been shaving since we're started."

"I'm totally calling you that now."

"What?"

He kissed her. "My cactus."

She scowled. "Don't call me that. If you call me that I'm never shaving again."

Chrom shrugged. "I really don't care if you choose to shave or not, so you're not going to win this. I grew up with two sisters and a lot of my work colleagues are women. I've seen a lot. You have no idea how many tampon runs I've had to go on. Hairy legs don't scare me."

"Damn it, Chrom. Why are you so amazing?"

"I just am."

"Want to help me out of my shirt?"

"You mean my shirt."

Robin hugged the shirt against her body. "It's comfy to sleep in. I thought you liked it when I wore your clothes."

"I do."

His fingers found the hem of the shirt and started sliding it up. She lifted her arms up so he could pull off the shirt. When the shirt came off, she self-consciously crossed her arms over her bare chest. Slowly, she unfolded her arms and snaked them over Chrom's shoulders before kissing him on the lips, and then along his delicious jawline. His hands moved down to her backside and pulled her in closer. In response, she rolled her hips against him erection and she felt a low buzz of pleasure in her clit.

"Is this okay?" Robin asked.

"Yeah," Chrom breathed.

"I'm ready when you are," said Robin. "Do you want help with the condom?"

"I don't know, can you help?" teased Chrom.

"Oh, fuck off," said Robin. "Where do you put them again?"

"The drawer in the bedside table," said Chrom.

Chrom held her waist as she reached over to pull the drawer open and took the condom box out. She opened the box and held it in the space between them.

He sighed. "I almost wonder if the world just doesn't want us to make love."

"I think you're right. Maybe it just means we should take it slow," said Robin. "I thought we could make it work this time without any incidents."

They both stared down at the empty box of condoms.

"Was I over for pancakes that often?" asked Robin. "Now I can't call Priam a slut."

"You're not a slut, Robin," said Chrom. "We could try saran wrap?"

"Chrom. Was that even a question?"

"I'm kidding."

Robin's stomach grumbled before she could say anything else. "Breakfast?"

"What do you want?" asked Chrom. "Pancakes?"

"I'd like eggs and toast actually," said Robin.

Eventually, they made it out of the bedroom. Robin stole Chrom's t-shirt again and sat down on the kitchen countertop, the coolness of the surface chilling her thighs. She swung her legs in the air, careful to not hit her heels against the cupboards below. Meanwhile, Chrom busied himself with breakfast.

"You've been in a pretty good mood all week. Something good happen?" asked Robin.

"Aside from you? Work has been going pretty well," said Chrom.

"Really?" asked Robin. She gripped the edge of the countertop and crossed her ankles.

"Yeah, without telling you too much detail, we've been able to locate and shut down a couple drug houses," said Chrom. "We've been getting…help"

Robin nodded and smiled. "That's great."

Everything was going according to plan. They had the snitch flip to their side. So far, Robin was learning that money and fear were very effective in getting people to do what your bidding. Priam argued that the snitch was better off dead, but Robin had insisted that they were going to do things her way. And they didn't need to dirty their hands. The triad would find out about the snitch on their own terms once they figured it out.

"Remember that we have dinner tonight with my sisters," said Chrom while setting the pan on the stove.

"Right." She had completely forgotten about that. "Of course, what time was it?"

"You forgot," said Chrom.

"No, no. It was at 6 PM right?" asked Robin.

"I know you totally guessed, but you're right," said Chrom.

"See? Didn't forget," said Robin. "Is it just us four?"

"Yeah. Lissa and Emm are so excited to meet you," said Chrom, cracking eggs into the hot frying pan.

Robin nodded.

"Don't be so nervous. It'll be fine," said Chrom.

"Can you drop me off at home after? I promised Priam some of my time today. And I should probably dress nicely for dinner," said Robin.

"So I have to spend all day by myself?" asked Chrom.

"I'm sure you can survive a couple hours without me," said Robin. "Chrom, what department is it that you work for again?"

"S.T.I.D."

"Okay, I don't know all your silly little acronyms. For all I know, you're probably working with the sexually transmitted infections department," said Robin.

"You wouldn't be the first person to say that." He scraped underneath the sputtering eggs with the spatula. "S.T.I.D. stands for Special Tactics and Investigation Department, but usually, we just call it 'Special Tactics'."

"What do you do exactly?" asked Robin.

"You know how countries have a military and law enforcement, right?"

"Yeah." Robin followed along.

"As you know, after the war with Plegia, Ylisse decided to get rid of their military completely. It was a gesture to show the world that Ylisse was willing to be vulnerable and strive to be a country of peace," said Chrom.

"You guys still have the Ylissean Self-Defense Forces though." Robin watched Chrom poke at the eggs in the pan again.

"They're only used outside of Ylisse for peacekeeping missions."

"That's not exactly what I learned in high school," said Robin.

"What'd you learn?" asked Chrom.

"That Ylisse didn't need a military because your allies would've had Ylisse's back if there was a squabble between Plegia and Ylisse again. A lot of Plegian historians view it as a bit of a backhanded gesture from Ylisse. A sign of hubris," said Robin.

"Really? That's what they taught you in history class?" asked Chrom, accidentally popping the yolk of one of the eggs. "Damn it."

"Well, think about it. Ylisse was relatively unscathed after the war. Plegia's still a mess," defended Robin.

"No, your textbooks are wrong. Ylisse has a strong history of diplomacy," argued Chrom.

"Right, because that would explain why Plegia and Ylisse still can't come to an agreement on the trade agreement right now," said Robin. "Amazing diplomacy here."

"That's because—" Chrom stopped himself. "No. We're not arguing about politics. This isn't going to end well. Everyone knows that Ylisseans and Plegians shouldn't talk about politics."

"Oh, okay. So there's a 'you' and an 'us' now. Are you afraid that you won't win the debate?" challenged Robin, a frown creasing her face.

Chrom put down the spatula and cupped her face. "Babe, it's not about a 'you' or an 'us'. And it's not about winning or losing this debate. Things always go sour when Ylissean-Plegian relations and history and politics come up. I know for a fact that racial tensions are still high between Ylisseans and Plegians. The fact that we're together would be considered progressive. And you're right, Plegia suffered significantly more than Ylisse, but Ylisse didn't leave unscathed after the war either."

Robin didn't say another word and Chrom searched her face for some kind of response.

"Okay, no politics," said Robin.

"No politics." Chrom smiled and kissed her forehead before turning back to the stove.

"We were talking about what you did," said Robin.

"Oh, yes. Right. Okay, so since Ylisse doesn't have a military, Special Tactics sometimes takes on the role of military police. Most of the time, there isn't anything major, and we just solve the more volatile cases. We're kind of like paramilitary police units. Like the Feroxi's SWAT units. Except the Feroxis will tell you that we're not as intense. Don't believe them. We are capable of plenty."

"Can't you just switch into traffic patrol?" asked Robin.

"What? Why? Do you know how many years of training and on-going assessments and training I've had get here?" asked Chrom.

"Because. Your line of work sounds dangerous. Now I'm going to be one of those stereotypical partners that worries about whether their partner is going to come home in one piece," said Robin.

He grinned. "Awwe. You're worrying about me?"

"I'm serious." Of course she worried. Most of all, it complicated her situation even more.

Chrom cut her thoughts short with a kiss. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"I know, but…"

"Besides, if you're ever in trouble or kidnapped, knock on wood"—he knocked three times on the countertop beside her thigh—"My team and I are probably your best bet."

"I promise to stay out of trouble if you do," said Robin.

Chrom held up a pinky finger and she smiled. He remembered. She linked her pinky with his and they stamped their thumbs.

"I promise to do my best," said Chrom.

But sometimes your best was never enough.

* * *

"Here, here, here, and here," said Priam, marking four precise Xes on the map.

"Are these the new locations?" asked Robin, getting down on her knees to scan the map spread out on the coffee table.

"Yeah," said Priam, capping the marker. "So far, it's been okay."

"Yeah, I haven't heard anything on the news," said Robin.

Her brows furrowed as she studied the map. Her fingers traced over the red Xes and the purple Xes. She snapped her fingers at Priam. "Pen."

Priam placed the pen in Robin's stretched out hand. She followed along with the routes the deliveries followed with a finger and connected to each of the red Xes. Robin bit the end of the pen, ripping it off and started to draw what seemed like random lines on the map.

"What are you doing? You're making a mess," said Priam.

Robin spat the lid out of her mouth and viciously shushed him. She continued to drag the red pen across the map. She paused for a moment, took a step back, and then added a couple more crude lines.

"Are you happy now?" asked Priam.

"They almost have us surrounded," said Robin. She gestured to the giant, crude C surrounding the purple shaded territory. "Why didn't anyone see this?" she demanded.

"Because not everyone has time for this," said Priam.

"Well, no wonder it's inefficient as fuck. You've given me a losing game," said Robin. "They're going to circle us and choke us out. That's what they've been trying to do since the syndicate started up here. Didn't Lon'qu notice this?"

"Again, brat. No one sat down to figure this shit out," said Priam.

"But it's so obvious!" Robin gestured to the map.

"No, the X marks look pretty random to me and concentrated on their side and not around our territory. I have no idea what you did there," said Priam, coolly pointing to the map of Ylisstol.

"What about the rest of the country?" asked Robin.

"There's a bit of a trickle down effect from Ylisstol, but it's mostly focused in Ylisstol," said Priam.

"No. No. That can't be right," Robin told herself. "They're probably out-competing us in the other cities too."

"Are you going to explain the map?" asked Priam.

"Oh, yeah, sure," said Robin. "It looks like you're only looking at the hideouts. Look at the the routes too. Then connect them together."

Priam frowned and stared at the map. "No. Still can't see it. Nevermind, I'll let your brain do its thing."

"So, what now?" asked Priam.

"We continue with the tip offs to the police. Seems like they're enjoying their success so far," said Robin. "But instead of the crackhouses in the bad neighbourhood, let's go more public now. Once buyers see that the triad is being compromised, we should start seeing them switch over to our…product. So, send the addresses and times for the delivery for these ones." Robin circled two of the red Xes in the downtown area. "But wait for a little while so that they don't get suspicious. We should eventually try to get the ones that are right near us, I don't want to put us at risk yet."

"Why is your plan so simple?" asked Priam.

"Because this doesn't need a complicated plan. And the last thing we need right now is get tangled in our own web. We need to break down their network first and then hit their supply location. Besides, no one expects simple," said Robin. "Everyone expects some elaborate plan."

"True," said Priam.

"So will you just make some calls and it's done with?" asked Robin.

"No, it's kinda like the game telephone in case one of our phones are being bugged. I call my Ylissean friend, Arden, who's a tax laywer and has been helping with the money laundering part of the syndicate's business. And he calls someone named Big Scorpion, and Scorpion calls someone else and it's this convoluted way to doing things."

"Wow, are you serious? A guy named Big Scorpion?" Robin snorted.

"Hah, just you wait. You're probably going to get an alias too. No one really gets to pick their aliases," said Priam.

"And what's yours? Manwhore?" asked Robin.

"Underdog," said Priam.

"Huh," said Robin to herself. "You know, that sounds terrible. Not your alias. But playing telephone for important things like this? That's like asking for a mistake to happen. Wait…that's why they fucked up last time."

"Probably," said Priam. "But it's better than you marching in giving orders."

"Keep it simple then. Just give them the date, address, and get whoever has been sending the address to the police to continue sending the little letters," said Robin. "Make sure it—"

"It has no fingerprints or any way for it track back to us and use different random people every time. I know. You sound like a god damn fucking broken record," said Priam. "When do you think the triad will start suspecting the snitch?"

"When it's too late," said Robin.

"And if things go bad?" asked Priam. "If they start sniffing around the syndicate?"

"I have a plan for that," said Robin with a heavy sigh. "Let's hope we won't have to resort to it. I'm trying to figure out a better strategy, but it hasn't been easy."

Priam narrowed his eyes at Robin. "You better not be stupid."

"Priam, I think we've both established that I think I know what I'm doing here," said Robin. "And also, are your shipments getting in okay? Or is the triad still raiding us?"

"Not great. There's the usual number of seizures at the border if the work is sloppy. But the triad is still getting a good share of our goods because you're letting them," said Priam.

"Let them enjoy their wins for a while longer," said Robin. "Shit's going to hit the fan soon for them anyway. And we should starting producing in Ylisse, rather than smuggling in drugs."

"You need people for that," said Priam.

"Don't we traffic people into Ylisse too? I know for a fact most of those call girls are from Plegia," said Robin. She couldn't even believe the next words that came out of her mouth. "Use them for drug production. They need money to start in Ylisse somehow, don't they?"

The same thing that motivated her to win her grandmaster titles in chess and fire emblem drove her right now: the drive to win. And if she didn't win this, not only did she know her father would find every possible way imagination to make her regret it, but it also meant the ruin of an entire country.

* * *

There was something mesmerizing about watching someone put themselves together for a special events. It was a fond childhood memory of Chrom's: watching his mother get ready for the charity galas, fancy dinners, and other special events. He had no idea what the names were for all the makeup products his mother would put on, but she would always finish off with a spritz of perfume and earrings. After she was done, his mother would always give him a kiss on the cheek, leaving a sweet rouged mark on his cheek and a whiff of her scent. Emm would then come in to grab Chrom to read him a bed time story.

But for some reason, there was none of that with Robin. She pulled on a pair of jeans, buttoned up a maroon chiffon blouse that complemented her Plegian skin, and zipped up tan ankle boots. Her hair was pulled back into its usual dark ponytail.

"What?" asked Robin, looking at Chrom.

"Nothing. You look nice," said Chrom.

"Is that it? You kinda look surprised," said Robin, adjusting her shoulder bag.

"Well, I guess I was just expecting you to take a lot longer. I never would've guessed you would be able to get ready in ten minutes after I showed up," said Chrom, getting up from her bed.

"Oh, that's because I didn't bother with eyeliner. I can never get it right. And I really don't want to stress about drawing a perfect line on my eyes. Surgery is easier than eyeliner. Besides Chrom, haven't you figured out that I'm not like most women? I like efficiency."

"That is very true."

"I also have a bottle of wine from Plegia to take as a gift. It's a 1977 Pelgian ambrosia. I won it in a bet with Priam."

"Are you serious?" asked Chrom.

"What?"

"Isn't it difficult to get authentic Plegian ambrosia? That or it's really expensive. There's a waiting list."

"It's pretty easy to get in Plegia, especially if you have friends in certain vineyards, which my family and Priam know. Should I have gotten something else? I could fight him for the 1967 one."

"No, forty-year-old ambrosia is great," said Chrom.

"Okay, great, let's go," said Robin, offering her hand out to Chrom. "We should leave before Priam starts harassing us about whether we're fucking in my room."

Chrom took her hand and she led him out of the room. "Your hands shaking. Are you okay?"

She retracted her hand with a nervous laugh. "Just nervous. I'm not a huge fan of new people." Then she turned to the entertainment system in the living room. "Priam!" she shouted, making Chrom jump. "Don't be fucking petty. Give me the damn bottle. I know you're holding onto it."

Robin thrust her bag into Chrom's chest. "Hold that." She pushed up her sleeves and walked over to the entertainment center in her living room. "Hand it over. Grandpa taught both of us that keeping our words is important to maintaining a person's integrity." Robin extended her hand out in front of Priam. And begrudgingly, he handed the bottle over. Gold Digger grunted beside him.

"You better savour every fucking drop, brat," shouted Priam as they were leaving.

"Well, next time don't bet on something you suck at," shouted Robin.

* * *

Chrom parked the car in the driveway and turned off the ignition. He looked over to Robin. "You look nervous."

"No way," said Robin sarcastically.

"Yeah, you look like you stole that bottle of wine. Relax," said Chrom, placing a hand on her lap. "My sisters are really nice. They're so excited to meet you."

She nodded. "Mmhmm."

"Okay, let's go," said Chrom. He opened the door and stepped out. By the time he closed the door, he noticed that Robin was still in the car, clutching the bottle. He walked around to her side of the car and opened the door. "Come on, baby cactus. It'll be fine. Why are you so nervous?" Chrom leaned into the car and unbuckled her seat belt.

"I just need a moment," said Robin.

But before she could have her moment, someone from the house shouted, "Is that my big brother? Oh my gosh, is Robin finally here?" The enthusiasm in the voice pierced through Robin's nerves, robbing her of the opportunity to be prepare herself.

"Lissa, you're scaring her!" Chrom shouted back.

"I've probably scared her less than you have!" she shouted back.

Chrom grabbed Robin's hand and pulled her out of the car and slammed the door shut. "Let's go." His hands were planted her shoulders and he steered her towards the house.

The house was made of stone, paned windows, and black shingle rooftops. Robin hadn't asked too in depth about Chrom's family background, but she could tell that his family had money. The house looked like it could house the entire Exalt clan for holidays. Now that she thought about it, all the houses on the way to his sisters' were very nice to say the very least. The perfectly manicured lawn and garden in front of the house reminded her of the Fell Manor back home. At the entrance of the beautiful tall house stood a young woman with shoulder length blonde hair. She had mischievous eyes and a brilliant smile. She had the same bright blue eyes as Chrom.

"You don't need to push," said Robin, moving aside to beside Chrom. "You never told me your family was well-off."

"I'm not, but I did grow up in this house. Let's talk about this later," said Chrom.

Lissa didn't give Robin an opportunity to meet her at the house. She practically skipped down the path. Robin offered her a hand to shake, but Lissa came with open arms. Chrom thought Lissa was coming to hug him, so he welcomed his little sister for a hug, but Lissa went straight past him and embraced Robin.

"Oh man, we've been dying to meet you," said Lissa. "We thought Chrom would never fall in love again."

Robin flushed and awkwardly hugged Lissa back. "Umm, hello."

"Lissa! Give her some space" said Chrom. "Robin, this is Lissa, my delicate sister."

Lissa snorted. "Hardly delicate."

"So…uh…the garden is very nice," said Robin quietly.

Lissa let her go and lit up like a lightbulb. "Yeah! Emm just planted everything at the start of this month. Come on, let's go in." Lissa hooked her arm around Robin's and dragged her into the house, leaving Chrom behind.

Robin barely kept up with Lissa, who kicked off her shoes seemingly in midair. She had to pull back for a moment to slip off her shoes before being dragged in.

"Emm! She's here!" Lissa announced Robin firmly attached to her own arm.

In the kitchen stood a tall blonde woman with perfect curls pinned on her head with a simple jaw clip. When Emmeryn turned around, Robin's first impression of her was kind and for some reason, regal. A welcoming smile spread on the woman's face and her eyes crinkled at the sight of Robin.

"Lissa, did you attack poor Robin?" she asked softly.

"No!" Lissa sounded offended.

Emmeryn wiped her hands on the apron before extending a hand. "I'm Emmeryn, but you can call me Emm." Her fingers were long and delicate and when Robin took her hand, she felt how soft her hands were.

"Robin. Nice to meet you," said Robin, placing her bag on the kitchen island table. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you. That's kind of you. The roast is still in the oven, but I've made some appetizers," said Emmeryn.

Robin jumped when a hand slid around her waist. She turned her head to see Chrom. "Just me. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you've met my sisters. And no, before you ask, I'm not adopted."

Lissa burst out laughing and Emm giggled with her.

"I didn't assume that," said Robin. "My sister and I don't look alike either."

"Okay, because Lissa would always say I was adopted," said Chrom. "I just wanted to clear that up."

"Isn't it usually the older siblings that tell their younger siblings their adopted?" asked Robin.

"I never thought of it that way," said Chrom.

Robin took the wine bottle from Chrom's hand and presented it to Emm. "This is a thank-you gift for having me."

"Oh, Robin. You really didn't have to," said Emm.

"No, it's really nothing," said Robin.

Emm read the label on the wine bottle and looked up at Robin. "We couldn't."

"Seriously, it's fine. My family knows the people who produce ambrosia wine and they usually send a couple thank-you crates—" Robin stopped herself from elaborating that they sent wine to the home of the president. "Yeah."

"Well, thank you. Your gesture is well received," said Emmeryn.

Robin smiled and nodded.

"Oh my gosh! I need to show you childhood photos," exclaimed Lissa.

"No!" Chrom held a patronizing finger up to Lissa. "You are not showing childhood photos."

There's a mischievous look in Lissa's eyes and then a Cheshire cat smile.

"Lissa, I'm serious. Another night," said Chrom. "Emm. You have to stop her. She only shows everyone the really embarrassing pictures of me."

Emmeryn gave Chrom a sympathetic look. "You know I really can't stop Lissa, Chrom. Lissa, how about you let Chrom show Robin around first before you show her photos?"

"Fine," said Lissa.

"Come, let's go," said Chrom, taking Robin's hand and led her out of the kitchen.

"She has a lot of energy," said Robin in the main hallway.

"Yeah. It's almost like she never grew up. But I think it's also because she's with grade three's all day," said Chrom. "Okay, now we need to find the albums before she does so we can hide them."

"So, you mentioned you grew up here," said Robin.

"Yeah," said Chrom. "Upstairs first?"

"Sure," said Robin.

"Emm and Lissa live here now," said Chrom, heading up the spiral stairs.

"Why do you live downtown?" asked Robin.

"Closer to work," said Chrom. "It was Emm who suggested it."

"Oh, I see," said Robin, following up behind Chrom. "It must get lonely to have only two people in such a large house." She recalled how lonely it got at the Fell Manor with only her, Lon'qu, and the servants.

"Yeah," said Chrom. "I've suggested to Emm that she should move somewhere else but I think she's purposely staying so that we always have our old home to come back to."

On the second floor of the house, the chandelier hanging from the ceiling glittered, winking at Robin. Chrom's childhood home was a fraction of the size of Fell Manor in Plegia, but it was still spacious. What really stood out to her was that the atmosphere was completely different. It almost felt homely, especially with the pleasant smell of dinner in the air.

"So, that's not the original chandelier," said Chrom. "I may have broken the original one, which turned out to cost about all sisters' tuition combined."

"Oh my gods, of course you broke the original one," said Robin with a laugh. "How did you break it?"

"I think I was twelve? We weren't allowed to play sports in the house—"

"You mean you weren't allowed to play sports in the house," corrected Robin.

"Ha ha. Don't be smart with me," said Chrom, gathering her into his arms and nipping at his neck.

"Stop! That tickles." Robin ducked away from him. "Okay, so how did you break it?"

"I was playing soccer in the house and the soccer ball kinda knocked it down," said Chrom.

"I can imagine you doing that," said Robin. "Oh gods, how much trouble did you get into for doing that?"

"I think my dad was more furious than my mom. I was grounded for three weeks," said Chrom.

"Well, apparently being a shit-disturber is just who you are," said Robin.

"Which was your room?" asked Robin.

"The farthest one down the hall," said Chrom. "It's been converted into a guest room. We still have family gatherings during the holidays."

Robin turned around to observe her surroundings. She left him to look at the little details that homes often held. It always reflected a lot on what people were like.

On the light blue walls was a row of pictures. Robin could see the progression of the Exalt family, starting with when Emmeryn was born, then Chrom, and lastly Lissa. There was a photo with Emmeryn at a dance recital and then a piano recital. Most of Chrom's photos were either in nature, in a tree, or a sports-related photo. She lingered at a photo of Chrom with his usual grin sans his two front teeth and laughed. It was so sweet. Robin knew exactly which photos were Lissa because the bright, young blonde child with messy pigtails was identical to the young woman she met downstairs.

Robin stopped at one specific photos and regarded it. It was one of those photos most families had—a family photo. It was a photo of the Exalt family at a lake dressed for the summer. It was a picture perfect photo of a happy family. She could identify each of the Exalt children and two adults behind them. The mother had sunshine hair with a straw hat and a kind, loving smile. Beside her, her husband had dark blue hair which was slicked back. There was a more serious air around him, but it appeared that he had relaxed and smiled for the photo.

"You look like your father," said Robin.

Chrom wrapped his arms around her and rested her chin on her shoulder. "You think so too? I get that a lot. But we're nothing alike aside from maybe appearances."

"Everyone looks so happy," said Robin.

"We took this at the cottage," said Chrom. "We went every summer. My parents were always busy with work, but they always made time in the evenings to make sure we all ate dinner as a family and we went up to the cottage for holidays. They would usually invite the entire family and it would always end up being a shit show with Uncle Carlisle getting drunk and he'd have a new girlfriend every time. My dad saw him as the family embarrassment," said Chrom. "But it was his little brother, so he put up with him."

"Sounds nice," said Robin.

"Do you have a large family?" asked Chrom.

"No, both my parents were only children," said Robin. "No uncles or aunts. I do have a grandfather though. Mom's side."

"The one that raised you," said Chrom.

"Yup."

"I'm guessing you want a large family?" asked Robin.

"Yeah, maybe ten kids," said Chrom.

"Ten?" repeated Robin, turning to look at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, ten to start," said Chrom.

"What are you trying to do? Build a soccer team?" asked Robin. "May your future wife's vagina rest in peace, Chrom."

Chrom laughed. "You should've seen the look on your face! Ten."

Robin's face flattened.

"I don't think I could support ten kids. That's insane," said Chrom. "I'd be happy with two. One daughter, one son. You?"

"I haven't really thought that far into the future," said Robin.

"Do you want to settle down one day?" asked Chrom.

"I know at my age I should have a better answer, but I honestly don't know," said Robin. "I have other priorities that are more pressing at the moment."

They both turned around when they heard footsteps running up the stairs and Robin's ringtone. "Robin. Your phone's been going off the past ten minutes. It seemed urgent, so I thought you should answer it," said Lissa.

Robin left Chrom's arms and thankfully their conversation about her future to meet Lissa halfway down the stairs. She thanked Lissa and saw that it was Priam. He rarely called several times in a row.

"What's wrong?" she said when she answered the phone.

"I need your help." He sounded like he had spent the last five minutes trying to catch his breath. There was an edge of panic in his voice that Robin had never heard before.

"Give me a second," said Robin, climbing back up the stairs, past Chrom, trying to find a private room.

Lissa pointed to a door and mouthed washroom. Robin nodded and thanked her. She swiftly entered the washroom and locked the door.

"Okay, go," said Robin.

"Someone got shot," said Priam. "I can't get a hold of Vincent. Usually he knows the contacts for medical emergencies."

"And you can't take them to the hospital," said Robin. "They would have to report it to the police."

"Bingo," said Priam.

Robin grabbed her ponytail and pulled it over her shoulder as she paced in the washroom. "Keep pressure on it and don't lift whatever you're using to hold the wound down. Just add more packing on top of it if it bleeds through."

"Robin, I know first aid. What we need is a plan!" shouted Priam.

"I'm thinking!" snapped Robin. Then she stopped in her steps. "I'll call you back in five minutes." She hung up and frantically scrolled through her list of contacts. Then she stopped at one contact and swiped right. The line started to ring.

"Cherche. I need your help."

* * *

Robin burst out of the washroom and Chrom took a couple steps towards her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm really sorry, but an emergency has come up and I need to leave," said Robin.

"Do you want me to drive you?" asked Chrom.

The thought had crossed her mind while she was talking to Cherche. If she had it her way, Robin would've taken Chrom's keys and took his car, but she knew he'd argue that her driver's license was still under suspension and then insist that he'd drive her there. But the last thing she needed was Chrom present.

"No, it's fine. A friend is picking me up," said Robin.

"Is everything okay?" asked Lissa from the top stair.

No. Nothing was okay. What was worse than having a shot gangster from the syndicate was a dead gangster from the syndicate. Getting rid of dead bodies was always a headache. She wouldn't know the severity of the situation until she saw the the injury.

Robin forced a smile. "Yeah, it should be fine. I'm going to wait outside." When she brushed past Chrom, he grabbed her arm.

"What's going on?" asked Chrom. "Are you sure you don't need help? You look terrified."

"It's a private matter. I just need to go and deal with it," said Robin.

"Robin, you're making me worry," said Chrom.

Robin pried his hand off her arm. "It's fine, Chrom."

Lissa watched the two nervously.

"I can help," said Chrom, stepping in front of her.

"You really can't in this situation," said Robin, pushing past him. "Tell Emmeryn I'm really sorry about bailing. We'll have to reschedule." She zipped down the stairs with Lissa and Chrom close behind her.

Robin entered the kitchen to grab her bag and went straight for the main entrance. She shoved her feet into her shoes and adjusted the back of the shoes to fit more comfortably.

"Are you sure?" asked Chrom.

"Chrom, I'm going to say this one last time. You can't help with this," said Robin. "I'm going to wait outside. It was nice meeting you Lissa."

"Yeah, hopefully next time you can stay," said Lissa.

"Me too," said Robin.

Chrom joined her outside and waited with her. To her relief, he didn't ask her any questions. He tried to hold her hand, but she wouldn't let him and instead checked her phone and paced about, waiting for Cherche to arrive. Another ten minutes passed before an abrupt honk brought all their attention to a charcoal SUV. A young woman with long pink hair was revealed when the window rolled down. "Robin! Get in!"

Before leaving, she grabbed the front of Chrom's shirt and kissed him. "I know it's killing you to not be able to help, but let me do this. I'll call you later."

Once she hopped in Cherche's car, Cherche immediately sped up. Robin dialed Priam's number again. "Meet me at 3466 Wyvern Avenue. Come through the back entrance." Then, she hung up.

"I never thought you were the type to stick your neck out," said Cherche. Robin always loved Cherche's Rosannian accent. But right now, it failed to relax her.

"Neither did I," said Robin. "I don't know how I ended up in this mess. Priam was working with a illegal immigrants' families case and the father got shot. The neighbourhood they live in isn't great. They don't have health insurance. They'll be deported before they even have a chance to argue their case in court."

"That's not an easy decision. And of course, it's rush hour," grumbled Cherche in downtown traffic. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

"I know," said Robin. "I can't thank you enough for helping me with this."

They didn't exchange another word until they arrived at the back of the Minerva, Cherche's vet clinic. Already in the parking lot was an old car with chipping maroon paint. A man with a dark blue ponytail nervously tapped on the steering wheel.

"I'll get the door. You grab the patient," said Cherche.

"Got it," said Robin.

Both women exited the car. While Cherche went straight for the back door, Robin knocked on the driver's window. Priam looked stressed, but relieved to see her. He got out from the driver's seat and Robin was already in the back seat eyeing the gunshot wound. The left thigh was bloodied and a blood mottled sweater was loosely tightened around it.

"I'm going to kill that mother fucker once I make it out alive!" hissed the gangster.

"Robin, I'm ready on my end," said Cherche, propping the back door open.

"Priam, I need you to help me move him," said Robin. "Pull him up from under the arms and I'll grab his legs."

Priam hoisted up the man from under his pits and the man hissed in pain and a new string of colourful words came out of his mouth. Robin caught the man's lower limbs and slammed the door shut behind her. Gingerly, they carried the cursing man into the vet clinic.

Cherche opened door after door and guided them into the operating room. It was very small compared to what Robin was used to and she didn't have a team to support her in the operation. None of the utensils were prepped and neither Cherche nor her were scrubbed up.

"Priam, leave," said Robin. "I've got this."

"What about her?" asked Priam, nodding over at Cherche.

"We'll talk about it later," said Robin, closing the door. She removed the sweater soaking up the blood. "Thank the gods that they didn't hit the femoral artery. He would've either died from bleeding out or because we don't have any blood for transfusions. No exit wound. We need to get the bullet out. Cherche, 200 mg of lidocaine."

* * *

"He's high on pain meds," said Cherche. "He just grabbed my ass."

"Slap him when he's better," said Robin, pulling her surgical mask down. She yanked off her right glove and then inverted it into the left one. "I can't thank you enough, Cherche."

Cherche smiled and patted Robin on her shoulder. "Just don't make this a regular thing."

"I promise," said Robin. "Priam's probably worried outside. I'll go talk to him. Can you keep an eye out on the patient?"

"Yeah, of course," said Cherche.

Robin exited the operating room and leaned against the wall and let out a held breath. Priam wasn't in the narrow hallway, so Robin went to look for him. She found him in the dark waiting area near the main entrance of the Minerva. He was slouched in his seat, his arms crossed and his white shirt stained with blood.

"Hey," said Robin.

Priam looked up and for the first time, Robin saw a glimpse of vulnerability in him. She had never assumed that Priam enjoyed this line of work on the side of his attorney career, but it was the first time it made her wonder if he detested this as much as she did.

Priam smirked. "How's the patient, Dr. Grima?"

Robin took the seat beside Priam. "He's fine. I can't trouble Cherche like this again." She saw that she had blood on her jeans. She sighed and closed her eyes. Bloodstains were a nightmare to get out of clothes.

"Like I said. It was an emergency. I don't know the contacts for the doctor they usually go to," said Priam. "I don't normally do ground work."

"I know," said Robin.

"How can you trust her?" asked Priam.

"I told her that you were working on an illegal immigrants' case and the man was at the wrong place at the wrong time," said Robin.

"That's…pretty smart," said Priam. "And she was okay with this?"

"I got lucky. We can't rely on luck. Her aunt married a man who turned out to be an illegal immigrant in Rosanne. But they already had a family and still they deported him. Let's just say I used her soft spot against her. I don't want to lie to my friends or Chrom, Priam. Don't make me," said Robin. "This won't happen again."

Priam sighed. "Eh, it could be worse. I'd rather deal with this than put up with an angry horde of women."

Robin didn't even have the energy to roll her eyes. He reached over and ruffled her hair like he often did when she was a child.

"You did good, brat."

"Fuck off, Priam. We still have some loose ends though."

"What?"

"There are surveillance cameras all around Ylisstol," said Robin. "I saw one right when we arrived. It probably caught everything on the CCTV."

"Fuck," said Priam.

"Yeah. We need to erase that piece of evidence," said Robin. She sighed. "Do we have a hacker?"

"No," said Priam.

"Get someone to find one. I'm sure someone in the syndicate knows," said Robin. "We need someone to hack the surveillance system and erase whatever was caught on the CCTV. Let's hope no one saw it for the time being. I hate being sloppy."

"I'll let Vincent know," said Priam. "Once I get a hold of the bastard."

* * *

The blue light illuminated the face of the man resting his head on an elbow. He made a pronounced sucking sound before moving the cherry lollipop to the other cheek. A smirk spread on his bored face.

Finally, something interesting. He paused the video stream.

The man peaked up from his computer screen and glanced around at the other employers in front of him. He could see several of the other employees were watching the different streets of Ylisse. This is why he loved having a seat at the back. He could see what everyone was up to, but he didn't need to worry about anyone looking over his shoulder. Once he confirmed that no one was remotely interested in him (albeit, no one was interested in anything in this job), he returned back to his screen.

Two young women. A man. A body. Or maybe the body was alive. In the back of an alleyway on Wyvern Avenue.

He couldn't tell frankly. The resolution wasn't amazing.

"Gaius! Are you slacking off again?" snapped a loud man from the front of the surveillance room.

Immediately, Gaius pressed a keyboard shortcut which pulled up a game from the bottom of a screen and switched his current surveillance feed to another street.

"Always, Seth."

* * *

The bed was colder and bigger without Robin beside him. Chrom shifted into the middle of the bed in hopes that it would fill up the extra space more. Nope. Now, he just had more space on either side of him than to his right. She had only started stay over since last week, but he was already so used to her body against his, reminding him that he wasn't alone, that she was there.

Maybe Vaike was right. Maybe he was getting a little too attached.

The ambrosia wine was hitting him hard. Plegians always made such damn strong drinks. Emm had to drive him home and catch a cab back home. He lied there in bed, refusing to admit that he was pouting. Chrom reached over and grabbed Robin's pillow and snuggled up with it: it smelled like her shampoo. There were little reminders of Robin around his place, although, they were annoying, he liked that there were little signs of her—the long strands of hair littered around his house; the cups she left around, marked with her lip gloss; and her bright underwear and socks (when she remembered to bring and overnight bag). Whenever they were eating on the couch, she also had this habit of wiping her hands off on his shirt, which was starting to drive him insane.

He chuckled to himself. She was definitely the messier one of the two.

When his cell phone rang and clattered against the bedside table, Chrom threw his self-respect aside and lunged for the phone before it could even make it to the third ring. He knew it was Robin. She hadn't responded to his texts since she left and she promised she would call.

Her voice was quiet and tired. "Hey."

He matched her volume. "Hey, how are you? Is everything okay?"

Chrom listened to her sigh into the phone. "Yeah. Everything is fine. Tell your sisters I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. They understand."

"And you? Are you upset?"

"No. It's fine." Chrom yawned.

"Did I wake you? We can talk tomorrow."

"No, no. Stay on the phone with me."

"Okay."

Chrom smiled. "I can't seem to fall asleep without you. I miss you."

"It's only been a couple hours since we've been apart."

"Yeah, but I still miss you."

He didn't say anymore. It was selfish, but he wanted to hear that she felt his absence as much as he did. Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was that he was lonely tonight. So he waited.

"I miss you too."

Like most of their more intimate conversations, her words were cautious. Others may have become impatient with Robin's hesitancy to open up, but Chrom actually like that about her. Her words were genuine and had weight to them. They were never cheap because she always kept them guarded, thought them through, and strung them with care before delivering them.

"Can you say it again?" asked Chrom.

She scoffed on her end. "Now you're just looking for attention."

"Maybe."

"How much did you drink?"

"Most of the bottle."

Robin gasped. "You drank that much? Do you know how strong that shit is? Why did you drink so much? How did you get home?"

"Emm drove me home. Just one of those nights, I guess," said Chrom. "Sometimes, it's weird going back."

"I can understand that."

"Sometimes, I don't mind it, since my sisters are there. But on some days, it reminds me of how empty the house is," said Chrom. "I think it's just self-pity and a bit of nostalgia. But sometimes I wonder…"

"What it would've been like if your parents were still around," Robin finished his sentence quietly.

He chuckled in embarrassment. "Yeah."

"Well, for starters, they'd probably be pushing you to start settling down," said Robin. "That's what my friends have been complaining about lately."

He laughed with her. "Yeah, probably. My parents would've adored you though. Beautiful, well-educated, and mature."

"Oh, stop. Wouldn't they have wanted a nice Ylissean girl?" asked Robin.

"My mom wouldn't have cared. As long as she got grandchildren and as long as I was happy. And my dad? He would've been accepting because of your pedigree. That was the kind of person he was," said Chrom.

"I see. Almost sounds like he would've gotten along with my father," said Robin. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that your father's side of the family is wealthy. I mean, your childhood home was nothing short of upper class."

"Yeah, all lawyers if you can believe it," said Chrom. "The family was really disappointed in me when I wasn't going to take over his position in the family firm after my parents passed."

"Do you regret it?" asked Robin.

"Not pursuing law? No," said Chrom. "But they did give me a hard time for quite a long time since everything ended up in my name. They only stopped harassing Emm and me after I signed over all shareholder rights to the firm. I'm surprised they even let us keep the house and the cottage and our trust funds. But that was technically all bought with my parents' money, so kind of makes sense. When shit like this happens, it really helps you see clearly who's family and who's not. Can you not share all of this with other people?"

"Yeah, of course," said Robin.

Chrom knew better than to pry since Robin was very firm about not sharing more when she told shut him down once, but the most she could say was that she wasn't going to share with him. He had shared quite a bit of his own personal life. He wondered if she would open up a little.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" asked Chrom. "You sound really drained."

Silence.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Taking over Ylisstol to become the next drug lord and stitching up criminals at my friend's vet clinic after they've been shot so that the police don't find out via the hospital," said Robin.

"Really now? You don't strike me as someone who is capable of that. It would ruin your family's reputation." Of course, she wouldn't be straight with him. But he had to hand it to her, her made-up story was far more amusing.

"Hon, you don't know the half of it," said Robin. "I am the dark side."

"Cute, babe. Cute," said Chrom.

"Hey."

"Mmm?"

"Are you sure you can't you switch out to another department? One where you won't get shot to death? You could give out parking tickets."

"Robin, we went over this this morning. I'll be fine. I love my job and I have a duty to the people and my parents."

"I don't want you to get hurt," she murmured.

"You won't, I promise," he whispered back. "I'm pretty hard to get rid of."

She laughed softly. "I know."

"We should go to bed," said Chrom.

"Yeah," said Robin.

"You hang up first."

"Chrom, you know I'm the type of person to just hang up, right? I'm not going to play this game with you."

"I know."

There was another silence and he almost thought the call had disconnected until she spoke once more before ending the call.

"I miss you too, Chrom. Sweet dreams."

* * *

 **A/N:** See you next update! :)


	33. By My Side (Part 6): Fine

**A/N:** I'm sorry I didn't stick with my updating schedule. T-T Work got mad crazy and it's going to be even more mad crazy with tourist season here now. I'll do my best to keep up.

But, since everyone seemed to miss Lon'qu, I wrote a By My Side chapter.

Special thanks to LaceKyoko1138 for reading through this chapter. I tried to edit it as much as possible...but I can only do so much with 12,000+ words.

* * *

 **Chapter 33:  
By My Side (Part 6): Fine**

Grey was the colour that depicted his world with an impeccable accuracy. Even if his motives were white, the black nature of all his actions perverted it all and damned it to dark grey. At first, he wondered why the fuck was he here and then it didn't matter anymore.

Frank, the man Orton had stuck him with after Robin returned to Ylisse for school, was a monster. There was no denying that Frank was a loving father and husband, but Lon'qu had seen the darker sides of the man and the anger and violence that possessed him. Lon'qu believed that the world was honestly better off without him.

The old man with graying hair added another shade of bruise purple to the prostitute's bloodied face. Frank jerked her head back with his violent grip on her short brown hair.

"You think you can steal from us?" Frank shouted.

The girl cowered away from him at the impact of his angry words and spit on her face. She begged him in between her sobs. She begged for her life. She begged with her grey eyes.

"I n-needed it for my s-s-son," she cried. "I h-have n-never stolen before."

The other girls cowered in the corner, holding each other in the minimally furnished dank apartment. They muffled their sobs and the older girls covered the younger girls' eyes.

Lon'qu pressed down the urge to stop Frank from continuing. He could disable him within seconds. Frank wouldn't even know what hit him. But everyone in the room knew that an example was being made out of Cora. Once, Lon'qu suggested to Frank that perhaps it was enough. It was a mistake Lon'qu only made once.

That girl ended up dead.

Speaking up did more harm than good with Frank. Nevertheless, Lon'qu did notice that Frank was beginning to tire. His age was catching up to him, even if he never admitted to it. Finally, in disgust, he threw the girl away from him.

"Stupid whore. Should be grateful you even get paid." Frank spat. As picked up his belt from the floor and Cora flinched, and he laughed, savouring the power he had. "You're no use to me dead."

Behind his back, Lon'qu's hands were clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms. Albeit it was short-sighted, all the moves that he could use to take Frank out played out in his head.

 _Break Frank_ _'s right wrist, causing him to drop the belt. Grab the belt before it hit the ground. Bring Frank down to his knees with a blunt kick from behind. Wrap the belt around his neck. Tighten._

There were far more efficient ways to take him down, but he wanted Frank to suffer until his last breath.

Some days, Lon'qu wished he was elsewhere and not here. Over the time he had spent in Plegia with the syndicate, he had learned to hide his emotions well, but at moments like this, he still wavered. His humanity was what kept him going, but it was also what made some aspects of this job so difficult.

"Fucking whores," said Frank, stepping over the beaten girl lying on the floor.

Lon'qu followed without a word. He made a mental note to return to drop off a first aid kit. As soon as the door closed behind them, he heard their restrained cries burst through the dam of fear.

* * *

Speeding down the roads, weaving between the cars stuck in traffic on a motorcycle was the only thing that made Plegia summers remotely bearable. That and the greatest invention to humankind: air-conditioning. While Lon'qu was dressed all in black—a leather jacket and long pants—the wind was enough to keep him sane for the time being. Nothing would make him run around in shorts and a tank. Or he'd burn under the wrath of the sun. Lon'qu preferred endangering himself to heat stroke than a sunburn.

Smoothly, he rode through downtown, passing the business and government buildings, and entered what people formally called the 'Entertainment District'. After a long day of work, many people spent their evenings in the Entertainment District. Law enforcement struggled to prove that anything illegal was going on because of the way the illegal and legal businesses seamlessly blended into each other. Hell, some of the police were in on it and turned a blind eye because they had invested some of their own money into building some of these business.

Lon'qu slowed as he entered the infamous Entertainment District. The buildings had transitioned from tall glass business offices to shorter structures decorated with unlit signs and dark windows. The nightly establishments were a mix of buildings from the old days that hadn't been removed for aesthetic reasons, and modern, artistic buildings with black glass mirrors to shroud the inner workings.

He turned into the alleyway between Cherry (a strip club) and Twilight (a hostess club) and parked his motorcycle in a small area at the back. Lon'qu climbed off his bike and pulled off his helmet. He swung the heavy backpack to his side to clip on the helmet before moving.

After Robin had left for school in Ylisse, Lon'qu had been reassigned to more dangerous tasks. Both Anathema and Orton trusted him enough with the more sensitive assignments. Today, Frank had given him another call and asked him to show up at one of the syndicate's hotels.

He already felt the heat baking him alive as he backtracked to the hotel. The sun's blazing heat in Plegia was as hot as the fury of a thousand gods. Sweating already, his sunglasses were slipping down the bridge of his nose. He grumbled and bitched in his mind during the short walk to Siren, a popular hotel that the syndicate call girls favoured.

Once inside the hotel, the air conditioner breathed sanity into him again. That was another thing he found enraging about Plegia. It was too hot to wear long sleeves outside, but too cold to not wear long sleeves indoors because of the A/C. Lon'qu ignored the front desk and headed straight for the elevator. Frank had already sent him a card key to Room 817.

When the elevator door was about to close, a pretty young woman who only looked a couple years younger than him called out, asking him to hold the elevator. She barely looked legal. She had the moonlight hair Plegian women spent hundreds of G trying to bleach it to that colour. Lon'qu did the opposite of holding the elevator: he pressed the 'close' button several times, but to his dismay, the woman managed to jam her arm into the elevator before it closed.

"Thanks for holding the elevator," she said, smiling.

Lon'qu didn't respond.

"It's lovely today, isn't it?" she asked, pressing the '9' on the button board.

This woman was insane. It wasn't lovely. It was bloody hot.

Lon'qu shifted away from the woman and stood his ground. Without looking at her a second time, he knew she was a working girl.

"Say, are you possibly on business from out west?" she asked. "Do you need any company?"

Lon'qu chose not to engage and luck would have it, the elevator arrived on the eighth floor. He made a quick right turn to find Room 817 right near the emergency stairwell. He fished out the key card from his pocket and swiped in.

"You're on time," said a man. Frank had grown out his graying beard in the short time Lon'qu hadn't seen him. He stubbed a cigarette and added it into the overflowing ash tray. Frank looked much older than he did because of smoking and spending too much time in the sun.

"Everything's in here," said Frank, tapping a gray suitcase on the table with a thick, calloused finger.

Lon'qu unzipped his leather jacket and slipped it off. The air-conditioning provided him instant relief, further cooling his sweaty shirt. He tossed his jacket onto the bed before walking over to the suitcase. When he popped it open to reveal two guns and a couple magazines, he withheld a sigh.

More killing. They wanted him to do more killing. If he hadn't been so well-trained, he probably would've been dead by now.

"Velvet Dreams hasn't been paying us their dues. If that was all it was, we could just teach them a lesson, but it's far worse than that. They're working with the Triad," said Frank.

That was stupid, thought Lon'qu. It was like they were asking to be put down. Lon'qu simply listened to Frank ramble about the politics of the gangs in the city as he pulled out his own gun holster from his bag. He had had his own weapons readied since he was supposed to pick up Robin Grima from the airport tomorrow evening. She was returning from Ylisse for the summer break. This was supposed to be his last task for the summer before babysitting the younger Grima daughter again.

"Just kill them all," said Frank.

Lon'qu stopped and narrowed his eyes at Frank. "Using guns to do the job won't be discrete."

"I want to send a message," said Frank impatiently like a child.

Lon'qu stared at the man. Not only would he be at risk of revealing his identity as the perpetrator, but it was messy.

"I can do that without having a shoot-out in broad daylight," said Lon'qu.

"Are you defying me, boy?" demanded Frank, standing up from his seat, but wasn't quite tall enough to intimidate Lon'qu down. Frank always had an inferiority complex. It was one of many of his unpleasant qualities. That, and taking credit for a lot of the work Lon'qu did.

"I take orders from Orton, not you. I understand that you want me to eliminate the owner of Velvet Dreams, but I'm not running in there like a madman and shooting at everyone and anything. If that's what you want, you can do it," said Lon'qu, closing the briefcase and shoving it in Frank's direction. "If you want this job done, I'm doing it my way."

From what he could tell, this was a job Orton had specifically wanted Frank to do, but Frank had decided to push it off to Lon'qu. He welcomed the thought of only having to deal with the heiress than spending another day wasting time with Frank. Just one more task.

* * *

Lon'qu had a love-hate relationship with weapons, especially guns. At least with a knife, he gave the opponent a chance to fight, but with a gun, it was over within a matter of seconds. It was efficient, and fast, but it didn't feel fair. His aim was too good.

"Fuck," hissed Frank. He clutched his thigh. A bloody gunshot wound in his thigh oozed fresh pain.

He let out a measured breath and let his hand drop to his side with the gun still in hand. A low buzz of adrenaline hummed in his body. The smell of gunpowder lingered, tickling his sense of smell. A quiet sob burst out from behind the bar and it grew into a wailing.

Lon'qu walked over to Frank and eyed the wound. "Let's get you to the doctor."

Frank deserved it. It was too bad that whoever shot him missed between his forehead. The damned fool decided that he would lead the way and start a shoot-out anyway. Lon'qu was dragged into this unwillingly.

Lon'qu's ears perked up at the sound of movement behind him from the stage and he spun around with his aimed gun. A rotund man stepped out from the curtains of the stage, his balding head slick with sweat and two thick hairy arms held up in a trembling surrender.

"P-Please don't kill me," he said.

Lon'qu remained steadfast with his gun aimed on the new target.

The man's gaping mouth and wide eyes gave away that he was probably in shock. His eyes darted about, not sure which corpse to stare at in the club.

"No one crosses Anathema. We've received information that you've been tipping off the Triad, ya bastard," hissed Frank.

The stripper hiding behind the bar continued to cry hysterically.

"No one even knows who the fuck Anathema is!" shouted the manager.

"Finish what you came here to do. You know the laws of the syndicate. Should've thought twice before taking a loan from us and then betraying us." Frank spat, barely missing Lon'qu's shoe. "Hurry up. You didn't have any problem seconds ago, massacring everyone else. Do you need more bullets?"

He hadn't wasted a single bullet.

"I'm begging you. It wasn't me!" the manager shouted. But before he could explain, Lon'qu put a bullet in between his eyebrows. The urban dancer screamed at the sound of the gunshot.

"Damn, son. You have hell of an aim," said Frank. "I need a smoke." Then, his face grew serious again and he gestured to the bar with his chin. Finish her too.

Lon'qu frowned at Frank. What they had requested of him was already excessive. What patrons who hadn't been killed in the crossfire had scrambled out screaming and all the dancers in the club had been killed and so had all the other employees. Not killing one girl wasn't going to make a difference.

The woman hiding behind the bar began to scramble and from what he could hear, she was crawling across the floor to get out.

"Hurry up," said Frank. "I hear the sirens."

"I'm out of bullets," said Lon'qu, hoping that'd be enough of an excuse. It wasn't a lie. He always knew how many bullets he had left and fortunately for the lone survivor, he had none. She hadn't seen anything, so she wouldn't be able to accurately describe Frank nor Lon'qu.

"Here," said Frank. He dug into his breast pocket and gave him small revolver. "I'm not going to repeat myself."

As soon as Lon'qu accepted the gun, he turned around and fired. The crying finally stopped and ended with a soft thud.

Lon'qu grabbed Frank's arm and slung it over his shoulders. He helped the older man up and half-carried him across the club. Frank hissed and swore with every step they took out through the back door. When the back door closed behind them, Lon'qu heard someone yell, "Police, put your hands up where I can see them!".

Someone came out of the car that was waiting for them and ran over to take Frank from Lon'qu. While the transfer happened, the back door opened. Lon'qu lunged forward for the door knob, pulled it faster than the person was opening it, taking them by surprised, and then slammed it against them, knocking them out cold.

"Come on, quickly," said Lon'qu, pulling out a knife from inside his sleeve. He walked towards the car backwards, making sure that they could get a clean getaway.

"Get in!" shouted Frank. Lon'qu sprinted for the car, dove in, and slammed the door shut. "Step on it!" shouted Frank to the driver.

And the car with no license plate drove off into the night.

* * *

They met the doctor in the basement of one of the cooking labs. He was a small man with a a protruding bottom lip that made him look like he was perpetually pouting. His beady eyes were magnified behind his glasses, which made Lon'qu uncomfortable since he could see the joy in the doctor's eyes as he worked.

Frank started yelling again and his screams echoed in the basement. The doctor continued to dig out the bullet like he was fishing out the last red candy in a bag full of assorted candies. The only thing illuminating his work was small camping lamp.

"What the fuck is your problem? How could you forget the anesthetics?" yelled Frank.

The doctor shrugged. "You more you struggle, the longer it'll take me." The doctor withdrew the forceps and pinched them in the air at Frank. Even in the dim light, the metal pinchers shined with blood. "And it's almost 4 AM."

A part of Lon'qu was happy that the doctor forgot to bring anesthetics. He had once seen Frank do so much evil in the short time he had been with him. He deserved more than this small amount of pain.

The doctor turned to Lon'qu this time. "Who's the young'un? He sticks out."

"Anathema trusts him," said Frank. "He's pretty much a fucking hitman. Even I'm impressed."

"Oh. I think I've heard of you," said the doctor, leaning towards Lon'qu.

Lon'qu wondered if the doctor had been taller in his younger days because his hunch made him barely come up to his chest.

"You survived Needles," said the doctor matter-of-factly before getting back to work. "Crazy woman, that one. Never liked her. Used to work with her, but even for me, she's crazy."

Lon'qu felt the back of his neck prickle at the mention of the name. A chill washed over his entire body.

 _Clank._ The doctor dropped the bullet in a metal dish. "I'm keeping it," said the doctor. "You're lucky it missed the important stuff."

Lon'qu checked his watch. A little less than eighteen hours before Robin arrived.

"Need to be somewhere?" asked the doctor.

"Something like that," said Lon'qu.

"You look excited," said the doctor. "Girlfriend?"

* * *

In the morning, he hopped onto his motorcycle and arrived at the Fell Manor. He parked his bike, tucked his helmet under his arm, and climbed up the stairs to the entrance. Normally, he would've let himself in, but it felt like he was intruding, considering he hadn't been to the Fell Manor since Robin had left. So he rung the door bell.

A familiar face opened the door. Georgia, one of the maids he had seen the year before, beamed at him. "Lon'qu! Don't you look dashing today! Are you back while Miss Grima is here?"

"Yes," said Lon'qu, uncomfortable with the compliment. The staff had never seen him in casual clothes: a black leather jacket with dark pants.

Georgia moved aside and invited Lon'qu in. "Usually, you're in a stuffy suit and tie."

"Yes," said Lon'qu.

She giggled. "You haven't changed one bit."

"I need the key to the car," said Lon'qu.

"The key?" Georgia repeated.

"I left it with the staff when I was leaving," said Lon'qu.

"Ah, yes! I'll get it for you," said Georgia. "But the little miss isn't coming until in the evening."

"I know," said Lon'qu. "I need to run some errands before I meet Miss Grima."

* * *

Lon'qu kept his eyes peeled for a frazzled, sickly girl to come out with the other arrivals from Ylisstol. Instead, he saw someone who looked like Robin Grima but with a little more life injected into her. She lacked any of the airport fashion that her sister had. All Robin Grima wore was a simple t-shirt that wasn't tucked well into her skirt and worn sneakers.

He raised his hand to catch her attention. She spotted him and smiled. She pushed her cart around the barrier to him.

"Ah! It's been so long!" exclaimed Robin, opening her arms up for a hug.

He wasn't going to hug her the girl. Lon'qu extended a hand to her for a handshake.

"How was your flight?" he asked.

Robin's face fell when she saw his hand, but she recovered and grinned anyway. "Of course. It wouldn't be you if you gave me a hug." She shook his hand. "The flight was fine. I mean, I can't complain about first class tickets. I think a lot of the passengers thought I didn't belong there since I'm usually dressed like a slob."

"Shall we go?" said Lon'qu, taking the cart from her.

Robin skipped after him as he led her to the airport parking lot. "It's so nice to see you. It's been a while. I wanted to send you a message or e-mail, but I realized that I didn't even have your contact information, since I wasn't technically allowed to have a phone in Plegia."

"Hmm."

"So, how've you been? Doing lots of heavy lifting?" asked Robin.

"What makes you say that?" asked Lon'qu.

"Your hands. They were very calloused when I shook your hand," said Robin. "That and you look like you've been working out."

Lon'qu glanced at Robin. He knew she was observant, but not this observant. "Yes."

"Man, you're so talkative," said Robin. "You're going to have to slow down. I missed everything you just said."

Robin Grima looked better. She didn't have this hopelessness plaguing her eyes nor the weight of her past pressing her down. She looked healthier and filled out her clothes better. Her choppy hair had grown out long enough for it to be pulled back into a small ponytail.

She rambled about nothing until they got to the car. She continued to chatter away even when he was loading the trunk with her luggage. By the time Lon'qu sat down in the driver's seat, he saw that Robin had strapped in the passenger seat.

"Miss Grima, please sit in the back," said Lon'qu.

"I'll be fine," said Robin. "It's not like I'm five or too short to sit in the front."

"It's not that, Miss. It's for your safety," said Lon'qu.

"All the windows are bulletproof though. Why does it matter?" said Robin.

"You're not going to move back, are you, Miss?" said Lon'qu. He knew the answer, but he needed to confirm it.

"Nope," said Robin. "Let's go, Bodyguard Sun! But before we go home, I want a frappe. So we need to drop by a cafe."

"Will you sit in the back then, Miss?" asked Lon'qu.

"No," said Robin.

Lon'qu sighed. He was honest to the gods, too tired for this. They'd take a detour and grab her a damn frappe and go home.

By some miracle, Lon'qu found a parking spot in downtown Goetia. Robin didn't even wait for him to get out of the door. Lon'qu had to chase after her. He had no idea where all this energy was coming from. Last year, he recalled that sometimes she didn't even have the energy to get out of bed. Once inside the cafe, Altea, Lon'qu had hoped that she had an idea of what she wanted, but she didn't.

"What should I get? There are so many to choose from," said Robin, tugging at Lon'qu's sleeve. "Eugh, I wish Phila was here. She would help me pick. What do you think?"

"I don't know, Miss," said Lon'qu.

"Maybe I'll go with the caramel frappe," said Robin. She apologized to the barista for taking so long. "But the vanilla bean sounds good too. But the new summer special, s'mores, looks good too."

"Miss Grima, please hurry up," said Lon'qu, wary of the growing lineup behind them and the impatient barista in front of them.

"Okay. I think I'm going to go with the caramel frappe," said Robin to the barista. "Could I get a small?"

"Is that all?"

"Yup. I'm paying with debit," said Robin.

"Make it decaf," said Lon'qu.

Robin looked at him over her shoulder.

"You won't sleep, Miss," said Lon'qu.

"Don't tell me what to do." Robin laughed.

"So decaf or no?" the barista asked Robin.

"Yeah, decaf."

* * *

The next day, Lon'qu didn't even see Robin until late in the evening, where she emerged from her room in her pyjamas. She made a beeline to the kitchen where Lon'qu could hear the older, round woman coo over Robin. He popped in to check in on her.

"My dearest child." Rosa snuggled Robin in her arms. "It's been so long! I missed you."

"I missed you too, Rosa," said Robin, not bothering to struggle against the cook.

Rosa finally released Robin before going back to preparing dinner. "You slept the day away!"

"Mmm…I know." The heiress yawned and took a seat on a stool behind the kitchen bar table. "I don't get to sleep much because I'm studying during the school year."

"You. Potato peeler. Sit too," said Rosa, pointing with a knife to the spot beside Robin. Lon'qu did as he was told and sat down beside Robin. Even he didn't dare defy the short, round Plegian woman. "Why are you back too?"

"Because I'm back, Rosa," said Robin.

"Make yourself useful. Chop these vegetables for me." Rosa pushed a bowl of onions, carrots, and potatoes.

Lon'qu removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He accepted the cutting board and knife that Rosa handed him.

"You should demand a raise, Lon'qu. Rosa's treating you like her sous chef," said Robin. "What's for dinner?"

"Stew," said Rosa. "Look at you. You still need so much more meat on you."

"I'm fine," said Robin.

"Hardly. Now, tell me about your year," said Rosa.

"A lot of studying. A lot of case studies. A lot of tests. And a lot of no sleeping," said Robin.

"Did you make any new friends?" asked Rosa, stirring the pot.

"Yeah, a girl named Phila has claimed herself my best friend," said Robin. "Mirabelle is a nursing student who hangs out with us a lot. She's very sassy. Miriel is a student finishing up her Master's, and none of us have any idea what she says half the time, but we still love her anyway. Cherche is a vet student, so we run into her more often than not. She's really sweet and she's from Rosanne."

Lon'qu finished chopping carrots and Rosa praised his skills before dumping them into the stew.

"Any nice boys?" asked Rosa.

"Rosa, I think you fail to understand that most of us are severely sleep deprived and dirt-poor and sexually frustrated because we have no time for anything," said Robin.

"Maybe you'll meet a nice boy here during your summer in Plegia," said Rosa.

" _Or_ I can stay single. You know there's nothing wrong with that," said Robin with a shrug.

"You should enjoy your youth, sweetheart," said Rosa. "Fall in love. Pursue your passions. Live. I couldn't count the number of boys I was seeing at your age with all my fingers and toes."

"Rosa!" Robin laughed.

"I may not look it now, but I was a babe." She winked at her.

Robin grinned at her. "I believe you. Besides, if he wants to date me, he'll have to be able to beat Lon'qu in a hand-to-hand combat battle. That and Father's approval. So, I'll need to find a someone in special forces and comes from a good enough family background. I don't have time for that. I'd rather sleep and laze around and annoy Lon'qu."

"Right. It slipped my mind that Mr. Grima was the president. I just want to let you know that I have collected tons of teas for you to try out. There are some teas from Chon'sin too. I'm sure Lon'qu can brew them."

"Thank you. That's very kind of you," said Robin.

* * *

In the brief moment Lon'qu had gone to the washroom, Robin had disappeared. He wasn't worried since he knew she couldn't have gotten far. When he made a beeline to the library, he was surprised to see that Robin wasn't there. Lon'qu continued his search in all the usual places Robin hid in and found that she was nowhere to be found. It wasn't until he ran into Georgia, humming with a basket full of clean laundry, that he found out where she was.

"Oh! Miss Grima made herself some tea and I saw her go into the drawing in the east wing on the first floor," said Georgia.

Odd. Robin rarely went into the east wing of the manor. She spent most of her time in the west wing in the library. Whenever guests came, she often entertained them in one of the parlours in the west wing as well.

Lon'qu thanked Georgia and headed to the east wing. While they had renovated and redecorated the entire Fell Manor to look more modern, they had the conscious decision to maintain the previous darker hues. Not much had changed, but the staff seemed to be more upbeat than the previous year. Lon'qu attributed that to Robin's state. When he arrived at the drawing room, he knocked two sharp raps on the new door.

"Who is it?"

"Lon'qu, Miss."

"Come on in."

Lon'qu entered the room to find Robin curled up on a window seat with a mug of tea in her lap. He should've known that she would nest here: the couch with tons of cushions and pillows set up underneath a paned window. It had an amazing view of the garden during the day and the stars at night.

She didn't turn to him. She only remained staring out the window. "Please don't turn the lights on," said Robin softly.

Quietly, Lon'qu shut the door behind him and watched her. Robin's hair was now a little past her shoulders. Her clothes didn't hang off of her like she was a human clothes hanger. If it weren't for the faint melancholy that occasionally lingered in her eyes when she thought that no one was watching her, he would've thought that she found some peace.

"Took you longer than I expected. You're rusty." Robin teased.

"I thought you were in the library," said Lon'qu, walking towards her.

"Didn't feel like it. I spent my entire year in a library," said Robin. "Sit. There's tons of space to sit. I mean look at all these couches and that weird looking coffee table."

"I'm fine, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu, standing a couple feet away from her.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" asked Robin, unfolding herself from her seat. "Rosa stocked up the pantry with new teas, remember? I was going through them and there's this barley green tea from Chon'sin. I wasn't sure how I should brew it, so I thought I'd wait for you."

Tea from back home sounded nice.

A tired smile spread on Robin's face and her eyes crinkled. "You look like you could use a cup of tea. Come. Let's go."

Lon'qu followed Robin out of the drawing room and into the kitchen. It didn't matter whether he wanted to do something else or not, she would do whatever she pleased anyway. Robin didn't say much until they were in the kitchen and flicked on the lights. She walked around the giant island table to one of the cupboards in the corner. When she opened it, it revealed hundreds of teas. There were boxes and paper bags of all colours in the cupboard. Robin disappeared from his sight again when she squatted down.

"Found it," said Robin, popping back up. "Catch!" She threw the paper cylinder with the tea in it, but her throw fell short and landed on the island table.

He chuckled, but immediately cleared his throat to pretend that he hadn't laughed at her.

"I was never good at sports," said Robin. "Grandpa once stuck me in the local softball team. I was so bad that I accidentally lost my grip on the bat and knocked some other girl out. He allowed me to not participate the following year."

Lon'qu went over to grab the tea. He pulled open the lid and sniffed inside. There was a deeper earthy smell to the tea than regular Chon'sin green tea.

"Okay, work your magic, Lon'qu," said Robin.

"There's instructions on the box," said Lon'qu.

Robin's smile fell. "Fine, I'll do it, since you don't seem to want to play along." She lunged for the tea, but he held up just high enough so that she couldn't get it.

"I can do it," he said.

"I don't know. Can you?" asked Robin.

"I think I'll be fine, but I'll let you read the instructions in case you think I'm not doing it right," said Lon'qu, handing her the tea to boil some water.

Robin read the tea container and asked, "Why eighty degrees Celsius?"

"Because green tea should be brewed at a lower temperature than a hundred degrees, or it will make the tea bitter," said Lon'qu.

"One day, you're going to make a special lady very happy. You're going to make a terrific housewife. Just marry rich. Is there anything you're bad at or don't know?" asked Robin.

Women, he thought.

Robin watched his every move like a curious cat, but she maintained her distance from him. It felt weird being the one being watched than being the observer.

"Is something wrong, Miss Grima?" asked Lon'qu after retrieving two mugs.

"Nothing," said Robin.

When Lon'qu was done, Robin and Lon'qu went over to the kitchen bar. Robin took a seat on the stool, but Lon'qu opted to remain standing. Lon'qu had a habit of watching people's faces when they took their first bite or in this case, their first sip. He wanted to know what their first thoughts were. Robin brought the mug up to her mouth. She blew into the mug before taking a sip. When she did, she closed her eyes and hummed. Contentment spread on her face.

"The rice in the green tea adds a wonderful…toastiness?" she said.

Lon'qu tried it and agreed with her.

She set her mug down. "So, Bodyguard Sun."

He knew she was teasing him again. This probably had something to do with his formality towards her. She was never fond of it, but gave up trying to get him to talk to her like a friend. Maintaining formalities allowed himself to keep her at a distance. He needed to be close, but being too close was never a good idea. It blurred objectivity, whether it was intimate in a bad or good way.

"Yes, Miss Grima?"

"How has your year been _really_?" she asked.

"Fine," said Lon'qu. He wasn't fine. He had seen so many dead prostitutes and gangsters that it was numbing. But Robin would never know that and he wanted to keep it that way. "Yours?"

She pouted and he knew that he hadn't provided that answer she wanted.

"Good. Priam is unbearable to be in the same city with, but it's been okay. I have no clue why Phila has declared me as her best friend, but I guess it's nice to have her as a best friend." Robin smiled fondly at the mention of her new best friend and then took another sip from her tea.

Her eyes flicked up at him and she stared at him for a while. She had a habit of doing that—observing him, trying to see what he was thinking about. Sometimes, Robin was right on the dot and it unnerved him.

Robin tightened her lips and looked down at the kitchen table: she had collected whatever information she had wanted. "They kept you busy."

Lon'qu's brow creased for a brief moment. Was she making an assumption or did someone tell her what he had been up to? Or maybe it was a question. No, it sounded like a statement.

"Yes. Busy it a good thing though, Miss Grima."

This time, she gave him a sad smile. "You should take care of yourself."

Lon'qu set his own mug down and frowned.

"Your hands," she answered, avoiding his gaze. "They look like they're in a rough shape." Lon'qu saw guilt fill her.

He knew his hands didn't look pretty. Frank had started a fight with another member of the syndicate, a new recruit to be specific, a week prior to her arrival. And he had had too much to drink that night. The new recruit mouthed off at Frank and Frank had decided to teach him a lesson and what resulted was Lon'qu having to interfere. Frank had pulled out a gun and threatened to not kill the new recruit, but to ensure that he would never forget this night. The only way Lon'qu could assuage Frank and save the new recruit was by stepping in. He told Frank it wasn't worth wasting a bullet and said that he would teach the new recruit a lesson. Sometimes, Lon'qu hated being undercover more than he wanted to admit it, because that night, he couldn't sleep. The sound of cracking bone echoed in his head as he recalled beating the recruit to a pulp until Frank told him to stop. But the bastard waited until both the new recruit's face and his knuckles were raw.

He should've been the guilty one, not Robin. But here he was drinking fucking tea with her like everything was fine. Perhaps if he pretended for long enough, it would be.

"I'm fine," said Lon'qu.

She scoffed. "Sure. If you're fine, I'm normal."

They both focused on drinking their teas for a while before Robin spoke again.

"I started to see a therapist." The words came out fast and ashamed, like she was confessing a sin that had been weighing her down. "Phila suggested it. She has a way of getting you to open up to her. Ylisse is far better than Plegia in terms of mental health though. Priam thought it was a great idea. I think a part of him was relieved that he wouldn't have to deal with my breakdowns when I got too stressed."

"Has it helped?" asked Lon'qu. A part of him wondered if he could pass the psych evaluations that agents were given back in the Regna Ferox Intelligence Agency.

She bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah. Better than before. No one knows except Phila and Priam though. But I wanted to tell you for some reason. I never thanked you for saving my life. So thank you."

"I was doing my job, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu.

"Can you just say 'you're welcome'? We're going to try that again. Thank you, Lon'qu," said Robin.

Lon'qu remained quiet, but he saw that stubborn look in her eyes again. She wasn't get to let this up until he said the words.

"You're welcome."

"See? Was that so hard? Anyway. Avie has a lot planned for us now that I'm back. She wants me to learn pole dancing with her? She said something about how an eighty-year-old is more fit than I am. And I think one of the magazines she was supposed to have a shoot with wants her to bring me. I don't want to go. I look like a troll when I stand beside her."

Lon'qu smiled at her grumbling behind his mug. Whether she was going to rule the underworld or not in the future, in that moment, she was simply an awkward twenty-something year old trying to figure out her life. And he was a twenty-something year old that had been robbed of a normal life, but was enjoying a brief moment of normalcy.

* * *

"Robin, use your abs!" shouted Aversa, trying to shove Robin's butt up the pole.

"I don't have abs!" the younger Grima shouted back. "Oh my gods! Shit! I'm slipping! Catch me, damn it."

"You're not even trying!" Aversa argued.

At this point, Lon'qu had had to turn around away from the two Grima sisters because if he spent another second watching Robin's attempts at whatever she was doing, he was going to laugh. Too bad the front of the room was a wall of mirrors and he could still see her from the corner of his eye. He took a deep breath and tried to suppress the laughter bubbling up from his chest. Behind him, he could hear the squeaking sound of Robin's desperation slipping down the metal pole and then a _thud_.

"Come on! You promised you'd try!" Aversa stomped a foot.

"I am trying," grumbled Robin.

"You sucked so much that your bodyguard turned around," said Aversa. "You did the opposite of turning him on."

"Leave him out of this," said Robin, sitting up on the floor. "Lon'qu is only turned on by potatoes, Avie."

"What does that even mean?" asked Aversa.

Lon'qu turned around and shot Robin look.

"Look, I got his attention now," said Robin.

"Okay, what would make you try harder?" asked Aversa.

"Nothing really," said Robin.

Aversa pouted. Even when she pouted, it looked sexy. "How about this then? If you try a little harder, I'll let you stay at my place with me for the summer. And you'd get to hang with BV."

Robin gasped and perked up. "A furry snuggle baby," she whispered. Robin had considered stealing Aversa's cat, but a couple of the staff members at the manor had terrible cat allergies. "Really? But Father would never allow it. He doesn't even like us hanging together, in case the tabloids get a photo of us. And where would Lon'qu stay?"

"Ah, I forgot about him," said Aversa, tapping lip. "It should be fine. I'll just say security detail has changed a little. I have enough rooms at my place." Aversa squatted down beside Robin. "So how about it, babe?"

"Okay. I'll try harder," said Robin. "Let me know how it goes."

"Oh, baby sister. You know Father will say yes," said Aversa.

"Yeah, he always says yes to you," grumbled Robin. "Sometimes, I swear he just picked me up from under a bridge and I'm not related to you by blood."

"Okay, up you get. We need to go to the salon," said Aversa, grabbing Robin's hand and yanking her up to her feet. "You're going to give at least one guy a boner by the time I'm done with you this summer."

"Avie! Not in front of Lon'qu," said Robin, glancing over at Lon'qu. She whispered, "He's sensitive…about sexuality."

Lon'qu shot Robin another look and she giggled. He had this to look forward to for the next four months.

"And we could go to the beach every day!" said Aversa.

Lon'qu didn't even hold back his groan. Sand. Sand everywhere.

* * *

"What is this on your head?" shrieked Fabian.

"I know, right?" said Aversa.

Robin's reflection in the mirror pouted back at her as Fabian picked up chunks of her hair and allowed it to return back to her head. She swore that it was the black cape that hairdressers put on the client that made her look uglier than usual.

"Hmm…lavendar is totally in right now," said Fabian.

Robin glanced up at Fabian's reflection—he had perfectly coiffed gray hair with dark roots. He was well-manicured from top to bottom and was dressed in black. If it weren't for the air conditioning being blasted, Robin knew that Fabian's hair would deflate. In the corner of the mirror, Robin saw Lon'qu standing in the background, blending in. He looked like a another model waiting in the salon for his turn.

"So shoulder-length and then bleaching it?" asked Aversa.

"It'll take a while since her hair is so dark," said Fabian. "How is it that you have that precious moonlight hair of yours and Robin here has such dark hair?"

"She has our dad's hair," said Aversa. "Our mom had silver hair, which she inherited from our grandfather."

"You two don't look much alike," said Fabian, still trying to get a feel for Robin's new image.

"Actually, Aversa is just being nice. I'm adopted," said Robin flatly.

"Really?" said Fabian.

Aversa smacked Robin's arm and shot her a look. "You're not adopted."

"Well, you can't deny that you won the genetics lottery for looks."

Once Fabian actually got to work, Robin had fallen asleep with her mouth gaping open. When she nodded off, she jerked up and quickly wiped off the drool on her face.

"I saw that," said Aversa, flipping through a magazine in the seat beside her.

"I don't even know what you're talking about," said Robin.

"Mmhmm," said Aversa, not taking her eyes off the magazine in her lap. "Lon'qu saw it too."

"He's probably seen a lot more than you, Aversa." Robin stretched as much as she could in the seat without ruining the foil in her hair.

Aversa's mouth dropped open like she just heard a juicy piece of gossip. The magazine slapped shut. She turned around to stare at Lon'qu, which earned her a confused frown.

Aversa leaned over her chair and whispered, "I won't tell anyone. Are you two sleeping with each other?"

"Who's sleeping with who?" Fabian popped his head between the two sisters and purred. He looked at Aversa who wore a beautiful smile and Robin who had an embarrassed blush.

"No!" shouted Robin. She glanced over her shoulder to Lon'qu, who now knew that they were all talking about him.

Fabian straightened up this time and looked behind him to Lon'qu. "Oh. You're doing him, Robin? Nice."

"Stop it, guys!" snapped Robin.

"Oh, so not yet," said Fabian, unfolding one of the foils to check the colour. "But she totally wants to. Look at her blush."

"You both suck." Robin pouted.

"A bit young for me, but I'd do him," said Fabian.

"Same. If he wasn't around your age. Otherwise it's a little weird," said Aversa.

"He's going to hear you! Stop speaking so loud!" Robin hissed.

* * *

Orton visited a couple days later to say hello. Lon'qu had been asked to stay outside while the two talked. He stood outside for a good two hours, only able to hear the occasional polite laugh or a buzz of a private conversation. When they were done, Robin saw him off and went to her room. Lon'qu tried to coax her out for dinner, but she said she wasn't in the mood. However, she did come out for evening tea, which was starting to become one of the few regular things with Robin. That and Robin's daily visits to Aversa to mostly visit the cat who seemed that like Lon'qu more than Robin.

Tonight, Robin selected a non-traditional rooibos tea that was flavoured like birthday cake. Robin thought it was fun and loved it, but Lon'qu wasn't fond of it.

"Tea shouldn't taste like cake," said Lon'qu with a hint of disapproval.

"Why not?" Robin argued.

Lon'qu set his mug down. "Because."

She laughed, shaking her head. "You're such a tea traditionalist."

"Hmm."

After Orton's visit, she seemed down, but now she seemed like she had returned back to normal. It didn't go amiss to Lon'qu that Robin smiled more and visibly relaxed during their evening tea. Everything had slowed for his mission, but he preferred spending his time with Robin than doing dirty work for Frank. Drinking tea with Robin every evening was far more bearable than beating or killing people.

"You know. I dreaded coming back," said Robin. "But I'm glad I at least get to see you."

"Likewise, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu. She provided him a sense of relief at moments.

Robin ran a hand through her now silver-lavendar ombre hair, trying to hide another smile, but she was terrible at hiding them. He picked up his tea and hid his own smile by taking a sip.

"Does it look weird?" asked Robin.

"What does, Miss?" Lon'qu decided that he couldn't drink this atrocity anymore. He needed a normal cup of tea.

"My hair. Priam keeps making fun of it and now I think no one takes me seriously."

"It's fine."

"That is the most neutral response you could've given me. Did it look better before or after?"

"Your previous hair colour suited you, but you also look fine now, as well," said Lon'qu.

"Thanks. Another neutral response," she mumbled.

"I'm going to make myself a new cup of tea. Do you want anything else, Miss Grima?" asked Lon'qu.

"No, I'm fine," said Robin.

He felt her eyes on him the entire time he brewed himself one of the caffeine-free teas. She didn't say anything until he came back with his new cup of tea.

"So…Orton told me how everything's going," said Robin. "We didn't get Leanis back. We were really close, but something went wrong. Father isn't happy, but when is he happy?" She forced a laugh but it died off.

"And he…ummm…told me what you've been up to…because I asked," said Robin.

This. This got Lon'qu's attention, but he didn't show the physical signs. Calmly, he studied Robin. She had her head bowed, fixating on the mug in her hands. She chewed on her bottom lip.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

Lying was easy for him. He did it as a profession. He had been trained to deceive, to extract information, and while Basilio deemed him a bit too young to learn the art of seduction, he was more than familiar with the theory and application of it. But the past year had worn him down a lot.

"I'm fine," said Lon'qu.

"You say that a lot, Lon'qu," said Robin. "I mean, look at your hands. Can you tell me a believable lie that explains why your hands look like that?"

"Miss Grima, I suggest that you stop asking questions," said Lon'qu.

"I can get you out," said Robin. "I know Father isn't very compromising, but I can get you out. I just need some time. I could get you out. At least one of us deserves to be happy."

Lon'qu needed to get her to stop talking before she began to believe that this was what he wanted. What he needed. He placed his hand on top of hers. It was a small enough gesture that it didn't make him uncomfortable and he hoped it wouldn't be misconstrued. If he managed to stay alive and around Robin for long enough, he would have her complete trust and it would be crucial for the success of his mission. However, this was a long-term strategy.

"I'm fine where I am. Thank you for your concern, Miss Grima, but I suggest that you focus on yourself," said Lon'qu.

Robin picked her head up with wide brown eyes. Lon'qu noted that this was a topic that caused much distress to her, considering he could see her flushed face even in the dim lighting of the kitchen. She withdrew her hand from him.

Had he crossed a line?

"I…I think it's bed time for me."

She rarely went to bed before midnight, but Lon'qu simply nodded. He had miscalculated. That gesture may have been too bold and uncharacteristic of him. He must've offended her. Nevertheless, he had been successful in getting her to drop the topic.

The stool screeched when she hopped off and she scurried off, but then she returned. "I forgot my tea," she murmured. Lon'qu watched her collect her tea, altogether avoiding eye contact and she left.

He waited until the kitchen door stopped swinging, confirming she was out of earshot to release a sigh. Lon'qu picked up his own cup of tea and sipped before following after her. He hoped he hadn't fucked up too bad. But it felt like the best thing to do. He wondered how Basilio or Flavia would've handled the situation.

Her constant presence could only be described as odd. Lon'qu probably felt like that because he was trying to readjust to having to trail Robin at all times, but it also made him nervous when she wasn't there. In the end, he attributed that to being one of the side effects of this job.

* * *

"We really need to stop doing this," said Aversa.

"Yeah, I know," said Priam.

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

"Then stop indulging me!"

"Well, then, stop taking my clothes off! You _know_ me. I'm not going to stop you! Who would say 'no' to the most beautiful woman in the country?"

Aversa sat up in her bed, grabbed her pillow, and smacked Priam in the face. "You're insufferable." They had this conversation after every time they had sex.

Priam pulled the pillow off his face and smirked at her. "We're even now. I made you come first last night."

"Not for long. I'm taking my lead back next time," said Aversa. She took her pillow back and fluffed it before settling back into bed.

"So you wanna tell me why we drunk fucked again last night?" asked Priam, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Aversa grabbed his hand. "No real intimacy. Remember?"

"Don't worry, I'm not madly in love with you, Aversa. I'm not like the mere mortals of this world. Besides, we both sleep with a lot of people," said Priam. "And I know you're the jealous type."

Aversa rolled her eyes. "Me being the jealous type? Don't make me laugh. Like you're one to talk."

"So, what's wrong? What could be so wrong in your perfect world?" asked Priam.

"I hate it when family comes up in my interviews," said Aversa.

Priam chuckled. "Knew it."

"Father's president. Mom's gone. Robin is…"

"Broken? Fucked up?"

"Be nice! But yeah. And I'm not really allowed to talk about her either. And she's not really opening up to me even though we spend more time together," said Aversa. "I guess it just kinda got to me this time. I miss Mom."

Priam sighed and pulled Aversa into a hug. "I miss her too. And I know your grandfather misses her a lot. You've done great even without her. She'd be proud."

"Thanks. Anyway. I should get out of bed." She poked him in the stomach. "And you should go to work."

The model slipped out of his arms and walked over to her closet nude. "I know you're staring at my ass."

"I'm just admiring art," said Priam.

"Does that line work with all the girls you sleep with?" asked Aversa, pulling on a fresh pair of panties.

"I usually leave before they wake up," said Priam.

"We have issues, don't we?" said Aversa, putting on one article of clothing after the other.

Priam shrugged and got out of bed himself. "I wouldn't consider two consenting adults having sex an issue. Now, your cat fur everywhere and your obsession with trying to make Robin a mini-you, maybe."

It was like watching a shampoo commercial when Aversa turned her head to him with narrowed eyes. "No, I'm not!"

"Yeah, a bit. You are," said Priam, picking up his clothes off of the floor.

"Priam. Robin has the fitness level of an eighty year with a muscle degenerative disease," said Aversa. "And I swear, her hair looked like she had gotten into find with a homeless man over 1 G."

"So, the fitness level and the average economic status of a med student," said Priam.

"But we send money!"

"Yeah, but she doesn't have time to spend any of it. I'm ninety-eight percent sure that her new friend lives with an IV drip of coffee," said Priam.

"No matter what you say, I'm returning her back to Ylisse like a babe. She should date. Have fun. Enjoy her twenties," said Aversa. She walked over to him as he buttoned his shirt. "Do you know if her bodyguard and Robin are sleeping together? Do you think we should give her the talk?"

Priam frowned at her. "They shouldn't be sleeping together."

"But the heart wants what the heart can't have," said Aversa, buttoning up the rest of Priam's shirt. "And how would you know? When was the last time you saw her?"

"We'll have to get someone else then, Aversa, and he's good. Better than good," said Priam. "And you can give her the talk. Lawrence made me do that before. Back when Robin's sexuality was chess, fire emblem, and books. Don't get me wrong. I have way too much fun trolling her, but I don't think she's irresponsible. Yeah, she does stupid shit, but she's not stupid."

The model pouted at him.

"What makes you think they're sleeping together?" asked Priam.

"The way they look at each other," said Aversa, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah. There's something really arousing and sexually charged about a girl with tired, sad eyes with dark circles that makes her look like a panda and a kid who has a face of a robot. Sometimes I wonder if he's ever seen breasts or when the last time he yanked one off was."

"Do you kiss your mom with that mouth?"

Priam tightened his tie and smugly smirked at her. "Jokes on you, Aversa. I don't have a mom."

"I'm being serious, Priam," said Aversa.

"So am I. He's the only one Robin tolerates. She wouldn't risk their _professional_ relationship for a summer fling. She'd be even a bigger shitty brat if I replaced him. And she'd probably cockblock me every single chance she got once we're back in Ylisse."

* * *

"Why are you here? Go back to your stupid office," Robin snapped. "Isn't the building Father bought for you big enough?"

"Brat, please shut up for a moment. We're working," said Priam in monotone as he underlined a dense document and scribbled notes in the border.

"Why is your entire legal team here?" Robin demanded. "In _my_ library. Where am I supposed to go?"

"There are literally tons of rooms to pick from, brat. Everlee, did you finish the transcript?" asked Priam.

"Here you go," said a woman with a black lob.

A young man who only looked a couple years older than Robin piped up. What caught her attention was that he had dirty blond hair, which wasn't common in Plegia. "Priam decided we needed a change of environment."

"Don't talk to her, Mathias, and yes, she's off-limits," said Priam in monotone again as he skimmed the transcript. "Brat, run along. We'll out of here in due time. Our floor flooded."

"Don't treat me like a child!" Robin shouted.

Priam put his pen down and looked up at her. "Then stop behaving like one."

"I know you're here because you're keeping an eye on me," said Robin. "I'm not stupid."

"Are you sleeping with Lon'qu?" asked Priam.

Everyone stopped, curiosity putting a hold on everything. They glanced up at Priam and then turned to look at Robin.

Her face grew as red as tomatoes that the gardener, Ben, grew in the summer. "What? Where is this coming from?"

"Are you sleeping with him?" asked Priam in complete seriousness. "I know you think kissing is essentially the same thing as having sex since Lawrence made holding hands with a boy sound like you could get pregnant from that. And you flirt like a fucking textbook, but is something going on between you two?"

"Why would you ask me that in front of your entire legal team and not in private?"

Mathias leaned over to Everlee and asked, "Is Lon'qu that foreigner that was following her around?"

"I think so," Everlee whispered back.

Many of the unnamed staff continued to watch the drama unfold.

"It's a yes or no questions, brat," said Priam. "Faster you answer, the faster I leave."

"But why wouldn't she be sleeping with her boyfriend?" Mathias asked Everlee again.

"I have ears! I can hear you!" Robin hissed, glaring at Mathias. He pretended to busy himself over his legal documents. "Go to hell, Priam. There was no need to embarrass me in front of your entire fucking staff."

Robin stormed out of the library, but not before kicking a stack of file boxes. She hissed when she hurt her toe, so out of frustration, she shoved the stack over, but the lids kept and none of the files spilled out.

"Like I said. If you want me to treat you like an adult, act like one!" Priam shouted after her.

"You're an ignorant slut!" Robin shouted from down the hall.

Everlee snorted at his, earning herself a look from Priam. "What? She's not wrong."

"I don't judge your nightly activities," said Priam. "Or lack of."

"Oh, go to hell, you ignorant slut."

"I think you're forgetting who pays you."

* * *

She should've been in the kitchen with Lon'qu for evening tea, but instead snatched a bottle of vintage ambrosia from the cellar. They would never notice. Who was she kidding? Rosa would know. Rosa knew all.

Robin's sat cross legged on the flat surface of the stone railing of the ballroom balcony. Slouched over, she enjoyed a bottle of ambrosia straight from the bottle and the evening air. It was moments like this when she appreciated that she had a best friend like Phila. Phila's solution to everything was to drown it in booze. That or caffeine, sex, or cuddles. Robin didn't have much of a realistic option out of the four, so she picked booze.

Alcohol never tasted good, but with her shit mood from Priam's earlier public humiliation, her grades coming out, and having to start building up extracurriculars for the summer, Robin needed a drink. Actually, she wanted Phila, so they could laugh about nothing and everything while getting tipsy off of wine. She made a mental memo that she needed to take some bottles of ambrosia back with her to Ylisse so that Phila could enjoy some.

It had only been a week since she returned from Ylisse, and things sucked already. She read Phila's emails ranting about how much her summer job sucked, but it paid too well to quit. Robin wished she was working some shit job for the summer in Ylisse with all her friends, rather than being stuck in prison. She didn't even have to lift a finger. Her father had already found her something to do for the summer—working in a health clinic catering to the upper income bracket of Goetia. Apparently, she didn't even have to log many hours nor do much. It was all just for show and to have someone write a reference letter when needed and something to put down on her resume.

She knew that anyone else would've killed for this job, but she wanted to try to do things her way. People didn't get far without connections and here she was wanting to do things the hard way. Her father would've called her foolish.

Robin took another swig of the ambrosia and grimaced, drowning in her self-pity.

Her grades were better than great. She had scored in the top, earning herself a full scholarship for the new school year. She didn't even need it. Others would've felt really proud of such an achievement, but she was miserable. What was the point? Medicine wasn't even something she wanted to pursue.

Robin held the bottle up to eye level and shook it. The ambrosia sloshed around the middle of the wine. "Huh. I drank a lot."

Why was she even here? She was twenty with no passion nor dream. It was kind of pathetic. She had everything that people strived for—connections, money, and a luxurious lifestyle—but she was so unhappy and she hated herself for that.

It was probably the environment. She had been fine before coming back home. Robin hated being back.

Then someone wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her off. It disoriented her and all she managed to do was swear.

"What the fuck!"

"What are you doing, Miss Grima?" Lon'qu set her down on the floor, letting her stand, but he reached out again to steady her when she nearly fell over again. Even in her drunken stupor, she could tell he was displeased. Very displeased.

"What?"

"I said, what are you doing?" said Lon'qu. "It's a three storey fall from here. You could've fallen and died in your state."

"I like the air up here," said Robin like it was obvious.

"Priam mentioned that you may be sulking today," said Lon'qu.

"Priam is an ignorant slut. He came here to babyshit me," said Robin.

"I'm sorry, but I'm having difficulty following what you're saying tonight, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu.

"Priam is an ignorant slut," said Robin slowly. "He's here to babyshit me."

Lon'qu pried the wine bottle out of Robin's fingers with surprising difficulty.

"I know you want some, but my mouth was all over that so it's mine," said Robin.

"Let's get you to bed, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu.

"I don't feel like it," said Robin, shaking her head. "You're giving me this 'your coping mechanisms suck' face. Yeah, I do know your faces. People think they all look the same, but they aren't. And if someone says that, call them a racist."

"I don't think that will be necessary, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu.

"See? Now you're giving me the 'you're annoying me but I'm paid to be nice to you' face."

"I'm not."

"Sure."

"You're intoxciated, Miss Grima."

"No shit, Lon'qu. No shit. You sure you don't want some?"

"No. Let's get you inside."

"But I like it here. It helps me keep my face cool. I'm not going anywhere." Robin sat down on the ground and leaned against railing. "You can call me a child too, but I think I have the right to sit where I want in my house."

"Usually, yes. Unless it's potentially harmful," said Lon'qu.

"Sit with me? I'm harmless, usually."

"You're not going to go to bed, are you, Miss?"

She reached up and grabbed his hand to pull him down. "Pfft, no. But I don't mind if I'm alone either."

Reluctantly, he descended onto the cold floor beside Robin. "You have to be at the studio to meet your sister tomorrow morning, Miss."

"Eugh. I completely forgot that. Do you wanna skip?"

"No."

Robin sighed. "Fuck, my head is spinning." She tipped her head back to rested it against the railing. "We could skip and go to Nosfer and hide out with Grandpa."

"We can't do that," said Lon'qu.

She sighed again and her head rolled onto his shoulder. "I know. My head's spinning. Make it stop."

"Then don't drink next time."

"Wow, you're more like a sassmaster than a bodyguard." Robin snorted and then burst out laughing. "Sassmaster! Genius. Phila would approve." She straightened up and turned to face him. "You know what Priam asked in front of his stupid employees today?"

Lon'qu waited for her to continue.

"He asked if we were sleeping together. He's so stupid." Robin scoffed. "It's not even, 'Do you like him?' it's just 'Are you sleeping with him?'. Asshole."

"I see."

"Yeah."

"We should go back inside," said Lon'qu.

Robin sobered up for a brief moment and looked around. "Can I have my booze back?"

"No."

Robin took his hand. "Are you sure you don't want out? I can get you out." There were tears glimmering in her drunken eyes. "Do you want out? I can get you out."

"I'm fine, Miss Grima," said Lon'qu.

"This isn't fair to you," said Robin. "I can get you out, my baby potato. I can get you out."

"What…"

Robin grabbed his other hand too this time. "I'll be a bit lonely without you, but I can manage it. You should be using your potato peeling skills for better things. Like making the best potato fries in the world. You could run a food truck. Or go to culinary school."

Lon'qu opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"See? You know deep inside, I'm right." Robin sniffled.

"Miss Grima?"

"Yeah?"

"You're very drunk. I'm telling Rosa to put a lock on the cellar. We're putting you to bed." Lon'qu took his hands back from her and got up first. He brushed off his pants and extended a hand to Robin.

"But I don't want to go to bed," said Robin, taking his hand nonetheless.

"You're going to bed, Miss." Lon'qu pulled her up onto her feet and helped her steady herself.

"You smell nice," said Robin.

"Bed," said Lon'qu, ushering her into the ballroom.

Their footsteps echoed in the large venue. "This is so excessive."

"Mmm."

"Did you know almost all of our female staff are willing to give you their panties to see you in your biker outfit again."

This woman had no filters when she was drunk. "Miss, I suggest you don't go out drinking with your friends often."

"Why?"

"I don't think it's a good idea, especially unsupervised," said Lon'qu, stopping her from taking the wrong turn.

"I can't drink with friends. If I drink by myself, I'm a loser. There is no winning."

By the time they reached her bedroom, she told him all the stuff that the staff had said about him. One maid was willing to pay to give him a blowjob. Another one wanted to lick chocolate off of his abs. A third one wanted him to fuck her so hard that she couldn't walk the next day. Then, she rambled about how she had no idea there were so many creative sex positions.

"Like how comfortable would it be to have sex doing the splits?" asked Robin. "I can't even touch my toes."

"Okay, bed." Lon'qu opened her bedroom door and tried to push her in without accidentally pushing her over.

Robin resisted and stood her ground. She gasped and stood on her tip toes.. "Are you blushing? Oh my gods. You are!" Robin giggled. "Potato baby is blushing."

"Go to sleep."

"One last question."

"Will you go to bed after this?"

Robin nodded.

"Fine."

"How do you know if you like someone?"

Lon'qu took a couple seconds before answering. "I guess…you don't mind spending time with them."

"According to you, then I like everyone. And we both know I don't like everyone. I like Phila because she's everything that makes a person awesome. Rosa, because she makes delicious food and she's like the great aunt I never had. Aversa and Priam because I have to. Ben since he grows beautiful flowers with his magic hands in the garden." Robin listed off with her finger. "And you. Because…I feel safe with you."

"It appears I'm doing my job then."

Robin smiled. "I guess so."

* * *

Priam wondered if he had been a bit harsh with Robin, putting her on the spot like that. Stress from the new case may have pushed him close to the edge and Aversa was badgering him to find something out about Robin and Lon'qu. He needed more coffee and headed to the kitchen. He was itching for a cigarette, considering he had gone through his entire pack already. That's another thing Aversa badgered him on—quitting smoking. As if that were easy.

Mathias, the new intern, had been sent to buy him another pack of cigarettes before Priam ripped someone a new asshole that night. When he was in the hallway leading to the kitchen, he heard laughter. Priam checked his watch: past eleven. He wondered if it was the some of the staff flirting again.

He didn't even bother knocking. He slammed open the door to see Robin sitting on a stool at the bar table and Lon'qu to the side. They both looked up at him. Robin wiped her eyes as she tried to catch her breath.

Robin squeaked out a small 'Hey, Priam' before bursting out laughing again. On the other hand, Lon'qu shook his head but he also had a small smile on his face.

"What are you two doing?" asked Priam.

"Evening tea," said Robin, smiling. "Why?"

"This is a regular thing," Priam stated.

Robin looked at Lon'qu and then Priam. "It beats drinking all the wine in the cellar by myself. Rosa collected a lot of teas throughout the year and told me I need to try them all. So, Lon'qu and I are trying to get through all of them this summer."

He was already in a foul mood and now, Aversa might be right, which would complicate things and he would have to get rid of Lon'qu and find someone else who was just as qualified. But he knew he would be lucky to find someone half as qualified.

"You." Priam pointed to Lon'qu. "Out."

Lon'qu frowned, slowly putting his mug down onto the table.

"What? Why? If it's coffee you need, just make it and leave," protested Robin.

"Did I hesitate?" Priam barked.

"No, sir," said Lon'qu and he left the kitchen. The kitchen door swung back and forth a couple times before settling back in its spot.

"What now?" asked Robin.

Priam advanced towards Robin. "What are you doing?"

Robin shook her head slowly giving him a puzzled look, any traces of amusement now gone on her face. "I…don't know what you mean by that."

"Brat, please tell me you're not actually fucking," said Priam.

"Okay, Priam. You need mind your own business," said Robin, slipping off the stool. "Just because you're cranky, doesn't mean you have the right to take your anger out on me."

Before she could even pass him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Priam. Let go. That hurts," said Robin calmly, glaring back at him. He continued to stare her down. Eventually, she looked away and murmured, "We're not sleeping together. I don't know why this matters so much."

"Because it's disgustingly obvious that you're swooning around him. He's your fucking _bodyguard_. He's not your _friend_. And he's not going to be your fucking fuck buddy. If you are crushing on your bodyguard, not only are you making a fool out of yourself, but I'm also going to have to get rid of him and get you someone else, and we both know very well, it'll be hard to find a replacement for him. Is that what you want?"

"Priam, let go of me," Robin said quietly.

"Is that what you want? For me to find someone else for you?" demanded Priam.

"No," she murmured.

"Then, you sort your stupid feelings out or I swear I'll find a replacement. Don't test me." His grip around her arm tightened.

Robin clenched her mouth shut and avoided eye contact.

"Do you understand me?" said Priam.

"Yes, I heard you." Robin tried to pry his hand off of her arm.

He finally released her and she took a couple steps away from him, furiously rubbing her arm. "Grow the fuck up, Robin. I don't have time to babysit you on top of the work I have to do here."

Angry tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. "Go fuck yourself." And Robin stormed away.

A stale, cold silence filled the kitchen. Priam was left in the kitchen on his own with two mugs of cooled tea. He probably could've handled that better. He knew that. But Robin never knew what was good for her and she put herself through unnecessary suffering to learn those lessons. Lon'qu wasn't good for her. She deserved someone who wasn't neck deep in the syndicate. And Priam was always willing to play the bad guy if it meant protecting her, even if it was from herself.

While Priam made some coffee, Lon'qu returned to the kitchen. He didn't bother looking up at Lon'qu. The bodyguard stood there, waiting for Priam to acknowledge his presence before speaking. But when Priam did no such thing, Lon'qu spoke.

"Is there something you're unhappy about?" asked Lon'qu.

"It's fine," said Priam.

"Miss Grima returned to her room very upset," said Lon'qu.

"She'll be fine," said Priam. "Just do your job. Don't talk to her. Know your place. Now get out."

* * *

Evening teas were no longer a thing after that night. Lon'qu didn't ask Robin if she wanted tea in the evening after the fourth time she declined and slipped into the drawing room to read. Out of obligation, he accompanied her and sat on one of the couches as she curled up on the seat under the window—the new reading spot she favoured. They never exchanged words and she didn't initiate any conversations.

Even during the commute to see Aversa, Robin didn't say much. She simply withdrew into herself. Robin even started to actually start to improve in pole dancing and she didn't look like she cared.

Lon'qu was a man of few words, but he actually missed Robin's ramblings. Some of it brought great amusement to his day, but now it was completely quiet. Sometimes, he caught her staring for no reason and when he noticed, she'd immediately turn her attention to elsewhere.

Days became weeks and weeks became months and she had go off to Ylisse again. When Lon'qu dropped her off at the airport to see her off at the international flight gate, she turned to him and gave him a sad smile.

"I know you're not a hugger, but good-bye hug? I probably won't see you for a while again," said Robin, opening her arms to him.

It seemed harmless enough. He allowed it.

Her arms wrapped around him and her face buried in his chest. He awkwardly patted her on the back, hoping that would suffice as his fulfillment of the hug.

"I'll protect you too."

Robin released him, forced a grin, grabbed her carry-on and left. He watched the one person keeping him from going back to the deepest hell of the underworld in Plegia leave.

Lon'qu couldn't quite put a finger on how he felt watching her leave. He would endure another long eight months before seeing her again. He hoped he'd make some progress in that time.

* * *

 **A/N:** For those who also read my other two fics, I'm not sure how regular the updates for Sunflower and Expectations will be... _ I'll do my best...

Sorry and thank you. *heart*


	34. Release

**Re-Cap:** Robin leaves dinner at Chrom's family home to deal with a criminal with a gunshot wound at Cherche's vet clinic. But it was all caught on the surveillance camera. LE GASP.

* * *

 **Chapter 34:** **Release**

Legs hugged tight against chest, Robin sat on the couch, staring at a black television screen. Dark shadows clung under her eyes as she blinked slowly. Blankly. An overweight pug snored beside her naked thigh, occasionally licking its own snot. Morning arrived and sunlight crossed the floor to creep onto the couch, over the pug, and up Robin's side. Even when sunlight brushed against her cheek, it couldn't get the woman's attention.

There were too many unknowns to make a move now. The CCTV camera had caught everything and was incriminating no matter how someone would look at it. Cherche and her license plate was something they've probably had since she had established the practice, but the vehicle Priam came in and the obviously wounded man the three of them dragged into the vet clinic through the back door would pique any sane human being's interest. They would go after Cherche first. It was the logical next time.

She needed to adopt a defensive strategy.

Maybe she had been pushing the triad's boundaries too hard, too fast. Maybe the Special Tactics of YPD was already on her tail.

No. Not possible. It was impossible to track any of this back to her or Priam. She had been spotless with her everything. It would probably just look like they were helping someone. A criminal, sure, but not their involvement with the syndicate.

Her head spun. She rested her forehead on her knees.

Why was she afraid of getting caught? Of everything fucking up? If things didn't work out, that would mean she failed and her father would finally acknowledge that she didn't have the capacity to fulfill his wishes. But that meant being dragged back home earlier. To what though? To rot away in that damned manor?

Robin heaved a heavy sigh, her shoulders drooping.

The thing was she didn't want to leave earlier than her due date. She still wanted to hang out with Phila and…

At the following thought that arose, Robin bit her lip. She didn't want to admit it out loud, in case that it would consolidate the truth—Chrom was really growing on her. They had only known each other for a short period of time. Most of her friends didn't even commit to a relationship until 'seeing' that person for at least a month, and here was Chrom and her. Maybe they were moving too fast. The problem was, Robin didn't mind. And that's what scared her even more. Sometimes, she was under the misconception that her days weren't numbered and that the two of them would keep seeing each other for longer.

The smell of coffee crept onto her senses, drawing her out of her spiraling thoughts.

"Hey." Priam nudged her from behind.

She flinched and lifted her heavy head. It took too much of an effort.

"So, you are awake. Did you sleep at all?" He sipped his coffee from a red mug.

The colour of blood, she thought. "Couldn't sleep."

"You know you're useless without sleep, right, brat?"

Robin was locked onto the bright colour. It was also the colour of passion.

Priam, on the other hand, looked well-rested and not even the slightest bit bothered by the entire ordeal. In fact, dare she say, he looked relaxed.

"If you're this weak-minded, how're you going to run an international criminal organization?" Priam scoffed. "Shit happens, brat. Things rarely go according to plan. Mistakes happen. In the real world, it isn't like a game of chess. All of this like a trial run."

"I know."

"Then why are you moping?"

"Cherche. If we don't have someone to erase the recording of us, they're going to go after her."

"Why do you care so much?"

Robin narrowed her eyes. "Because she's my friend. It's the least I could do since we used her facilities to help out one of your lackeys."

"Actually, he's one of yours now." Priam smiled smugly.

"Priam, I don't have the patience for you this morning."

"Oh, I know. That's why it's much more amusing for me," said Priam. "But do try to carry on like everything is normal. Go sleep over with at the pig's place. You've been doing that a lot lately, haven't you?" His mild distaste for Chrom hadn't softened at all. "I don't know. Fuck like animals. Release some stress. That always seemed to help Aversa." Priam shrugged.

"Trash."

"Entitled shit."

He was an eyesore. Robin turned away from him.

"Seriously. Don't come home tonight. He's going to think something's up if you don't at least _try_ to pretend everything is fine. Your family is a pro at that. I'm confident you can draw that inner talent out too."

"Not until we sort this out," grumbled Robin.

"Do you even know how long it takes the authorities to do anything? So much paperwork and authorization has to go in. We have some time and Vincent's been on it since last night. You need to relax. Where's all your cool-headedness from yesterday go?"

"Up yours, Priam."

"Go shopping or something."

"I'm not Aversa."

"Yeah, you're right. She's easier to manage than you."

* * *

They had gotten another tip off. This time, it was in one of the busiest areas of Little Chon'sin. Frederick named Chrom the team captain for the mission, but advised having a detailed plan (that he wanted to approve) before they advanced. Chrom team had spent the entire day pouring over details and arguing before Frederick came in to kick them all out to go home.

Chrom detested evening rush hour. His car and everyone else's were all jammed on the street in traffic tetris. During this time, he would've either called his sisters, to let them know he was still alive, or Robin, but Vaike's car had broken down and Chrom offered him a ride home. After all, Vaike _was_ his partner.

"Too bad we don't have the police car. We could just turn on the siren and zoom by," said Vaike.

"Heh, I know," agreed Chrom. He rested his head on a propped elbow against the window.

"Bro, thanks for giving me a lift by the way," said Vaike.

"Not a problem," said Chrom. "But I think you might've had better luck with just taking the bus or subway."

"It's cool. So how's it going with the doctor?" asked Vaike.

"Good. We were supposed to eat dinner with Emm and Lissa and an emergency came up, so she had to leave." Chrom hadn't heard from her since lunch time. Was she doing alright?

"Seriously? Emm makes the best food. How did she _leave_ for that?"

Chrom chuckled, "Yeah."

Frederick's family had always been a close friend of Chrom's family and since they were both in the police force, Frederick and Emm often hosted socials for the Special Tactics division.

"It sounded pretty serious," said Chrom. He inched forward. "How about you and Miriel?"

"Don't even get me started."

Oh, but it started everything. The rest of the ride was going to be about Miriel.

"I think she's playing with me. It's driving me nuts, man. Sometimes it will take her forever to respond to a text. But I know she _read_ the text. It shows on my phone. But all of it's so random. It's like she's testing me to see how serious I am about her. But man, she's like a porn star in bed. It's like she knows everything. She has getting a man off to a science. It wouldn't be surprised if she has getting a woman off to a science too."

"Oh, huh. Wow. Hmm."

"I'm almost starting to even understand what she's talking about lately. She's definitely expanded my vocabulary exponentially. Did you know 'arrogate' means to seize and take control from authority? That's what she did. With my feelings. Miriel has arrogated my feelings, dude."

Vaike sighed the most defeated sigh Chrom had ever heard. It was endearing and sad at the same time.

"So where are you two?"

"We're just fuck buddies at the moment, I think. I don't know."

The rest of the ride, Vaike moped about his situation. It almost reminded Chrom of his own situation at the start of his relationship with Robin. She thought he was a creepy stalker.

By the time he dropped Vaike off, the traffic had cleared up a little, so the drive home wasn't as terrible as it could've been. Once he parked his car, he dragged his feet up to his apartment. As he did so, he pulled his phone out and dialed Robin's number.

From further up the hallway, he heard her ringtone. Weird. He picked his head up and grinned.

"Hey," Robin answered on the phone with a tired smile.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" he asked into the phone.

"I wanted to surprise you," said Robin. She lifted a large white plastic bag to show him. "I brought us some dinner."

He hung up and hurried to her side. A familiar overnight bag hung on her shoulder. She came with the intentions of staying the night.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" asked Robin, looking away.

Chrom grabbed her free hand and pulled her in closer. "I'm just really happy to see you, beautiful." He leaned in and pecked her on the lips.

"Happy to see you too," she said softly.

The takeout boxes made her lean to one side to offset the weight, so he immediately took them from her. "That looks heavy. I got it." Chrom fumbled with his keys and finally got the door open.

Robin slipped off her shoes and walked off to the living room. She threw the overnight bag onto the couch before taking a seat beside it. Her body sank into the couch and Chrom watched exertion weigh her down.

"How was your day?" Robin asked.

"Good," said Chrom, making his way into the kitchen. He set the food on the counter and set his keys beside them. "Everything alright? You look really tired."

"I'm fine." She pushed herself off the couch and walked over to help him unpack the food. "Anything interesting at work?"

"That's classified."

The aroma of an herbed meat and savory sides made his stomach speak. Robin laughed and took the takeout food over to the table.

"You and your classified information. Even if you told me, I wouldn't know what you were talking about," said Robin. "Oh, Chrom. Remember to bring some utensils."

Chrom did as he was told and grabbed a pair of forks and knives. "What'd you get?"

"Nothing spicy so I don't accidentally kill you," said Robin. "There's a new restaurant that people have been raving about. It's umm…can't remember what it's called."

"You not remembering something? That's rare," Chrom teased, sitting down across from her handing her cutlery. When he saw her drop her gaze, he spoke again. "Hey, you sure everything's okay?"

Robin smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Everything's okay." She stabbed some meat onto her fork and offered it to Chrom. "Try it!"

He didn't buy that she was fine, but he decided he'd pursue it later. Obediently, Chrom took the morsel off her fork. The meat was succulent and melted in his mouth.

"That's not bad. Lamb, right?" said Chrom.

"Yeah, it is," said Robin. "Oh, I brought a bottle of red. I thought it'd go well with the lamb. It's not ambrosia, but better than nothing. Do you want a glass?"

Chrom dug into his own plate of food of herbed lamb, seasoned rice, and a colourful vegetable side. "I think I'll pass on the wine. And since I can't help you drink the bottle, I'm not going to let you drink it either."

"Why not?"

"Because you're going to do your damned best at trying to finish it all."

"Bite me."

"Not at the dinner table. But if you ask me again later…" He watched her face flush and chuckled.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"Your face says more than any words could."

"I can't shut my face up, Robin."

"You can try."

* * *

Chrom woke up in the middle of the night, groggy and confused. He squinted in the dark and felt the absence of warmth by his side. Maybe she had gone to the bathroom. But the light that usually bled underneath the bedroom door when the washroom was occupied at night was absent. Groaning, Chrom picked his head up to see if her phone was on the bedside table on her side and found that was also missing too.

Now, he worried. Sitting up, he scratched the back of his head before climbing out of bed. She didn't seem like the type to leave in the middle of the night. Then again, she did leave before they even had dinner, but that wasn't her fault.

When he left the bedroom, his eyes were drawn to a small light in the living room like a moth. Robin was curled up on the couch, tapping on her phone screen. She inhaled a huge breath before trying to expel her worries.

He leaned against the wall, watching her for a moment. He could never quite figure her out. It was still too early to know each other inside out. Nevertheless, every time he got a little closer, she withdrew. Robin's withdrawals weren't the least bit obvious: they were subtle, almost undetectable until it was too late to catch her slipping through his curious fingers.

Curiosity. One of his weaknesses. He'd been told on numerous occasions. He was too trusting to boot too. Frederick always advised him to be more wary. But the mysterious aura Robin possessed synergized his curiosity. It often starved him for her love. Her touch. Her words.

"It's cold out here. Why don't you come back in?" Chrom approached her slowly in the dark to not startle her.

"Chrom?" There was a tinge of surprise in his name despite his efforts.

"I'll keep you warm." His yawn distorted his words. Chrom plopped down beside her. "Why are you out here? Was I snoring?" He trailed a finger up her shin.

"No. Family problems," said Robin. She gave him a cheeky smile. "It's classified. As you often like to put it."

"Ah, got it," said Chrom. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

She laughed dryly. "Unless you can get me a new family, no."

"Sounds like a normal family." He chuckled.

Robin unfolded her legs and spread them over his lap. "I'm sorry I can't tell you much."

"It's okay. I understand."

"Can I have a kiss?"

"You're going to have to come closer, babe."

She groaned, but tossed her phone aside and climbed onto his lap. "Close enough?"

He liked that about Robin. She still had a fiesty sass to her that he would get when he least expected it.

Chrom placed a chaste kiss on the forehead and laughed when he saw her scowl. That's not what she wanted. "I'm teasing." This time, he gave her what she wanted.

Pressing their foreheads together, she said in a quiet voice, "Life's been stressful lately."

It made him sad to see Robin in this state. He held her in his arms. "I'm here for you."

"I'm not good for you, Chrom."

"I know. I mean, you're keeping me up at really late hours."

"I'm serious," she whispered, her lips brushing against his.

"So am I." He tried to lock lips with her again but she drew back at every attempt.

She leaned into his ear, delivering hot, titillating words. "You're a handful, Chrom. You make you worry about your safety."

Chrom sharply inhaled when she rolled her hips into his with anything but innocent intentions. "I can manage."

Her fingers tangled in his hair and he felt the naked silhouette of her body against his bare chest underneath the shirt she took from his closet earlier that night. Sleep receded from his senses.

"Robin, we should sleep," he protested, all the while blood rushed to his other head.

"I want to, Chrom. But right now, I just need to feel good."

His hands slid to her hips. "I've been told that sex helps you sleep better."

"Wanna test out that hypothesis?"

"I'm going to trust you—" His breath hitched. Robin had slipped a hand down his boxers. "I'm going to trust your medical expertise." Eagerly, he shimmied out of his boxers with Robin's help.

"It's going to cost you," she purred, continuing her generous strokes around his hardening cock. After a couple more, she stopped at the tip and played with him.

"I have a great health plan. I think I'm covered."

"I guess I'll have to have see what—" Robin burst out laughing, her body trembling. "Oh gods. I can't do this. We're talking about fucking health insurance. Complete turn-on. Sexy, snuggle bunny."

Chrom joined in and laughed with her. It was nice that they could both laugh at the awkward sexual escapades without judgement.

"To be fair, it's past three in the morning and we're both half-awake," said Chrom. Robin climbed off of him and stood in front of him. "Where are you going, babe? Come back. I won't bring up health insurance again."

"I'm taking my clothes off." Robin pushed her panties down her legs before stepping out of them one foot at a time. Then, she pulled off his shirt, her hair spilling over her shoulders, and tossed it over her shoulder.

When she climbed back onto his lap, her wet lips rubbed against his erection. He closed his eyes and hummed. "Damn…that feels so good."

"Yeah? Talk dirty to me again. Tell me about what your insurance covers."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Why would I ever?" A remnant of a giggle laced her words.

"Why don't you try it then?"

Her physical teasing continued a little longer making him dig his fingers into the soft curves of her body before she accepted his challenge. "I want you in me."

Those words derailed his last rational train of thought. "Do whatever you want with me."

"Say please."

"Please."

She grasped his cock and guided it to her entrance and lowered herself. "Ah…"

Her sigh made Chrom swallow hard. Robin's legs looped through the space between the couch and his legs. She placed a hand on his shoulder to help with balance. Chrom grasped her ass, urging her closer.

He closed his eyes, relishing the pleasure of being inside of her. Her hair tickled his bare skin. She angled herself closer, gripping his shoulders.

It all felt too good to be true. Perhaps this was a dream.

Chrom brought up a hand behind her neck and pulled her in, tasting her lips. That familiar warm, melancholic scent of hers caressed his senses. She felt too real for it to be a dream.

"Is this okay? It's my first time on top." A hint of doubt betrayed her breathless question.

"It feels great, babe."

Friction between their bodies grew with each of Robin's movements, warming them up. The heat rose all the way up to Chrom's cheeks.

Robin's walls tightened around him. She was so wet for her. He wanted go deeper. He wanted to hear her letting go. He wanted to get drunk off her lust.

She gasped, eyes squeezing close when he grasped her legs and thrust deeper into her.

"I'm…I'm so close," she whimpered, riding him faster and faster.

Chrom held her tight. "Let it all go, Robin."

Immediately, her hips slowed and she buried her face into his neck. She clung to him. Her muscles tensed. Robin held her breath, but even then, a wanton cry escaped. Her walls contracted in pleasurable waves around his manhood. Feeling and watching Robin orgasm pushed him over the edge too. He let out a deep groan as his swollen cock throbbed and he came, releasing inside her. Chrom's hips thrusted a couple more times. His balls clenched, milking out the last of his bated climax. A sinful trail leaked out.

They took a moment in each others arms coming down from the high. Chrom listened to Robin catch her breath.

"Babe?" Chrom managed in between his own exhausted breaths.

"Mmm?"

He gave her ass a squeeze. "Better?"

Robin barely nodded.

"We should clean up and get some sleep."

She didn't respond.

"Robin?" Chrom nudged her.

This time, the response he got was a snore.

"Robin?" Chrom said a little louder.

She was sound asleep.

* * *

Robin woke and squinted at the sun peaking through the blinds. The air in the room chilled her, causing her to cuddle up against Chrom and yank some of the blanket towards her. Chrom stirred and peeked open his eyes to check what was going on.

He exhaled a breath through his nose and relaxed. "Oh, it's you."

This time, she pulled the blanket over her head and hid. "What do you mean, 'oh, it's you'?" she mumbled. "I'm your girlfriend." She poked him in his rib. Chrom retreated.

"Where'd you go?" Chrom tugged the blanket down and kissed her on the crown of her head. "Go back to sleep."

"I will."

"I have to be up soon though," said Chrom, checking his phone. "Hey, babe."

"Mmm?"

"Did we…"

"What?"

"Did we have pancakes on the couch at like three AM? Do you remember that? Or was I dreaming?" asked Chrom.

Robin blinked, trying to recall what happened before she fell asleep. Now that he mentioned it, she did feel like she needed a shower.

"I don't remember. Gimme a sec."

Chrom waited.

"All I remember is health insurance?" said Robin.

"Oh…yeah. That. That was us attempting dirty talk again."

"It wasn't a dream then," said Robin, rolling onto her back. She extended her arms over her head and stretched.

"You were hot on top." Chrom chuckled at the blush glowing on her face. She muttered a tiny 'thank you'. "Go back to bed. You need it." He kissed her on the forehead before climbing out of bed.

"Wait." Robin sat up with the blanket modestly covering her chest.

"What is it?"

"Did we…did we use protection?" asked Robin. "I can't remember."

Chrom turned to her, perplexed as he tried to recall that detail. "Umm…shit, no. I don't think so."

Robin's stomach sank. She wasn't on birth control. She closed her eyes and ran a hand through her disheveled, morning hair. "Fuck."

It's like things couldn't get worse.

"What should we do? Robin? You look like you're freaking out."

"No, I should've…I don't know." She sucked in a deep breath and released a heavy sigh. "Just give me a second." Then suddenly, Robin threw off the cover to get out of bed. She shivered, only realizing then that she was stark naked. She walked over to the dresser to grab her overnight bag from the top of it.

It was fine. All she needed to do was get to a pharmacy and buy a pill. That's all she needed to do. But her heart pounded all the while. Ylisse wasn't like Plegia. In the impossible chance she needed to go to a clinic to deal with the unplanned pregnancy—her stomach clenched—it wouldn't be like last time.

She took a deep breath. It was going to be fine. And in that moment, a person that hadn't crossed her mind in a while flickered.

Lon'qu.

"Robin, you've gone quiet. Talk to me."

"Are you going to watch me change?" asked Robin, rummaging through her bag. She still had two to three days, there really wasn't a reason to panic and rush. But she couldn't help it.

Chrom hesitated before joining Robin at the dresser to pull out a fresh set of clothes. He glanced over at Robin to gauge how she was feeling.

"Shouldn't we talk about this?"

"What's there to discuss? I'm not on the pill." She pulled a loose v-neck after securing her bralette. "In the off chance that I get pregnant, we can't keep it. It's not like we've been together for a long time, Chrom. And I'm leaving soon." Robin unrolled her pants but before putting them on, she turned to Chrom who was still trying to push his head through the neck hole of his shirt. "I mean, a _re_ you ready for kids? At this very moment? Like a baby just appeared right now."

Bright blue hair popped out from the shirt. "I don't think anything quite prepares you for parenthood. I _do_ want kids one day though. But no, not at this very moment."

"We made a mistake. That's what happened." She stepped into her pants and tugged them over her hips. Once they dealt with this, she was going home and sleeping. Perhaps that would relieve the headache swirling in her noggin.

"Are you going to the pharmacy?"

"Yeah." She grabbed her overnight bag and placed it on the bed, digging through it once more to find her toiletry bag. When she found it, she unzipped it open and low and behold, a condom stared up at her accusing her for not being more responsible.

"I'll come with you."

"You'll be late for work. And morning traffic is the worst."

"That's alright. I'll drop you off at home after. And I'd feel better going with you. You seem frazzled. I mean, so am I, but yeah."

Robin calmed at the realization that she wasn't in this alone. It was different this time. She had wanted the sex. She peeked over her shoulder. "Why are you so good to me?"

His smile asked why she didn't already know the answer. "Because you deserve it and you make me happy."

* * *

When Priam came home, he found Robin asleep on the couch with Gold Digger snoring on her chest. He took off his suit jacket and hung it on his arm as he watched the brat sleep. The small box and half-empty glass on the coffee table caught his eyes.

So, the brat decided to take his advice, but also had an accident.

He flicked her cheek. Robin's face scrunched up and her eyelids peeled back.

"You fucked up." He pointed to the morning-after-pill box with his chin.

The fat pug woke up too, his name tag clinking against his golden chain collar when he stretched out. He grunted at Priam, clearly displeased that he was woken too.

"I don't need you slut-shaming me, Priam," grumbled Robin, hugging the dog and rolling onto her side. "I'm being a responsible adult."

"Was the sex so hot you couldn't take a moment to find a condom?"

"Why? Are you jealous?" muttered Robin, starting to fall back asleep.

Priam snorted. "Hardly. You probably just do lame missionary."

"It's not as if you probably didn't have like a thousand pregnancy scares."

"Actually, it's four hundred and fifty-six."

"Liar."

He chuckled.

"Don't wake me again unless you have some good news."

"Hey."

Robin scowled and squeezed her eyes further shut.

"Hey, brat."

She scowled. "Leave me alone! I've barely slept!"

"We found someone who could help you sleep at night again."

Her eyes shot open and she immediately sat up. She rubbed her eyes with her free hand while the other one caught the pug from falling off the couch.

"When are we meeting him?"

"Why would you meet him?"

"I want to talk to him about some stuff."

"You're insane."

"What else is new?" Robin yawned.

"What would you even talk about? How to put more passwords on your phone?"

"Who is it?"

"Some Ylissean punk that calls himself the 'Trickster'. Apparently, he's the best at hacking," said Priam. "And I am strongly recommending that you don't meet him."

Robin cradled Gold Digger in her arms and got up. "Set up a meeting. Hell, invite him here. I don't really care." She yawned again, walking past Priam.

"Are your ears just there at the sides of your head as decoration? What did I just say?"

"If he's desperate enough to deal with an international criminal organization, I'm not too worried about him ratting us out. He knows we could kill him. Isn't that right, Gold Digger?"

The pug sneezed.

"Yes, you are a good boy. The perfect lapdog of a villain," Robin cooed.

"Gold Digger, you slut. Betraying your actual owner for the spoiled brat."


End file.
